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NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



HENRY H. METCALF. 

I; 



ILLUSTRATED. 



CONXORD, N. H. : 

PUBLISHED KY KF.rUBLICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION. 
1897. 









I 6 ' 

Ccp> -. 






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CONTENTS. 



Introduction ..... 

Agricultural Societies and Fairs 
State Board of Agriculture 
New Hampshire State Grange, Patrons 
bandry ...... 

New Hampshire College of Agriculture 
Mechanic Arts .... 

Granite State Dairymen's Association 
New Hampshire Horticultural Society 
Personal and Farm Sketches 

Ayers, Augustine R. 

Bachelder, Hon. Nahum J. 

Bailey, John 

Baker, John B. 

Baker, Hon. William D. 

Ball, Sumner N. 

Ballard, William P. 

Barnard, Joseph 

Bean, Fred 
v^ill, Willard, Jr. 

Bishop, Edward E. . 

Brown, Herbert L. . 

Brown, Hon. Manson S. 

Bryant, Edward 

Burbank, William W. 

Burley, Harrison G. 

Caldwell, Prof. William H 

Carpenter, George 

Carr, John M. . 



of Hus- 



and the 



Page. 

9 
1 1 

17 

28 

34 

42 

47 

49 

"3 

49 

191 

362 

125 

392 

96 

321 

196 

366 

354 

157 
181 
148 
317 

345 

75 

295 
103 



CONTENTS. 



Cater, Henry F. 
Chadwick, William H. 
Chase, Willard W. . 
Child, William H. . 
Clark, Charles L. 
Clough, Philip C. . 
Cogswell, Col. Thomas 
Comings, Erasmus D. 
Connor, James M. 
Courser, Thomas J. . 
Cram, Frank E. 
Cressy, Addison S. . 
Duncan, Christy H. 
Farr, John W. 
Farr, Noah 
Fassett, Charles W. 
V Fisher, George W. 
Fisher, Warren J. 
Fox, Perley E. 
French, Warren A. . 
Gay, William E. 
Gerrish, James L. 
Gibson, Alonzo W. . 
Goodhue, George W. 
Gordon, Hon. Francis A 
Gould, Alfred J. 
Graves, Bela 
Greene, Willard T. . 
Greenough, Gilman . 
Griffiths Brothers 
Hadley, Herbert O. 
Hayes, Charles H. and S 
Hayes, James M. 
Hill, Horace A. 
Hodgman, Marcellus R. 
Howe, Joseph Drew 
Hoyt, Charles B. 



334 

139 
198 

202 

397 
221 
140 

245 
61 

389 
154 
238 

145 
162 

223 

185 
100 
178 
306 

347 
283 
69 
231 
201 

299 
2 17 
72 
234 
394 
328 

85 
402 

88 
281 
187 

90 
384 



CONTENTS. 



Humphrey, Hon. Moses 
*^Hutchinson, Emri C. 

Kelley, John L. 

Keyes, Henry W. 

Kimball, Charles F. 

Kimball, George B. 
l/hinle, George Peabody 

Lord, P. M. . 

Manning, Solomon . 

Maple Grove Farm 

McDaniel, Hon. Charles 

Mills, John C. 

Morgan, Belden 

Morrison, John C. 

Neal, William H. 

Newman, George 

Noyes, Henry 

Noyes, Samuel Titus 

Ordway, Hon. Nehemiah G 

Pattee, Stephen C. 

Peaslee, John Albert 

Perry, William H. 

Phillips, Chester H. 

Pressey, John M. 

Pulsifer, Thomas S. 

Ray, Hon. John C. 

Rice, George G. 

Rines, Mark 

Riverside Stock Farm 

Robbins, L. Harland 

Roberts, Joseph D. 

Rogers, Ezra B. 

Rovve, Jonathan 

Ryder, William H. 

Sanborn, Jacob 

Sanborn, Prof. J. VV 

Sargent, Walter 



23 
312 
289 
240 
323 
364 
132 

237 
332 
109 
129 

258 

252 

81 

206 

350 
399 
249 
165 
106 
228 

93 
211 

308 

315 
288 
209 
293 
94 
215 
340 
171 
368 
179 
277 
226 
115 



CONTENTS. 



Sawyer, Herbert N. 
Scammon, Hezekiah 
Shaw, Christopher C. 
Shepard, James E. 
Smith, Hon. Charles E. 
Stinson, Col. William H. 
Stone, Charles W. 
Stone, Edmund 
Tallant, Hon. John G. 
Taylor, Hon. Jonathan M 
Taylor, Thomas O. 
Tenney, Simon A. 
Thompson, I^ucien . 
Tilton, Zerah E. 
Tripp, Warren 
Trow, Clarence L. 
Wadleigh, George H. 
Wadleigh, Milton B. 
Walker, Hon. Joseph B. 
Wason, Hon. George A. 
Waterhouse, Charles H. 
Wellington, Edwin I. 
Wentworth, William T. 
Westgate, William F. 
Whitcher, Joseph Avery 
Whitcher, Prof. George H 
Whitney, George F., 2d 
White, Samuel S. 
Whittemore, Sidney B. 
Winch, Charles 
Woodward, Frank R. 



386 

337 
136 

64 

406 

273 
302 
212 

150 
173 
189 
124 
37^ 
243 
158 
194 
127 
265 
54 

255 
260 
271 

359 
356 
376 
381 
310 
149 
267 
326 
120 



INTRODUCTION. 



While volumes almost without number, setting iorth 
the work and achievements of men in public and profes- 
sional Hfe, in railroading, banking, and the various lines 
manufacture, have been written, printed, and issued to 
the world, comparatively little has been written, and still 
less issued in permanent form, concerning those who 
have won substantial success in that oldest and most hon- 
orable of human occupations — Agriculture. 

It is the purpose of this volume to supply, in some 
small measure, what is wanting in this regard, so far as 
the state of New Hampshire is concerned : to increase 
the interest in agriculture in the state and record the suc- 
cess which has crowned the efforts of representative 
New Hampshire farmers. If in so doing the writer 
shall succeed in advancing in any degree the welfare of 
this great industry, which remains and must continue 
the basis of our national prosperity, and which, even in 
New Hampshire, excels every other in magnitude and 
importance, he will have accomplished all that he hoped 
for, or had any right to expect. That he may do this by 
exciting a deeper pride in, and stronger devotion to, their 
noble calling in the minds of New Hampshire farmers 
and their sons, he sincerely trusts ; while earnestly 
reminding the latter that upon the continued and improved 
cultivation of these New Hampshire farms, upon which 
have been reared so many of the men who have directed 
the thought and energy of the nation in times past, 



lO INTRODUCTION. 

depends in no small degree our future national welfare 
and progress, while it brings directly to those engaged 
therein the substantial reward of intelligent and well- 
directed effort. From the examples cited in the following 
pages, it is clearly manifest that farming in New Hamp- 
shire has been made to " pay," even in the ordinary, 
material sense of the term. That with intelligent effort 
and improved methods it may be made to pay even more 
abundantly in the future, is not to be doubted. 



AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES AND FAIRS. 



The first settlements in New Hampshire were made 
in 1623, but agriculture seems to have been but an inci- 
dent in the occupation of the inhabitants during the first 
century of its history, fishing, on the coast, and lumbering 
in the interior, being the leading branches of industry. 
Subsequently, however, the people began to turn their 
attention more and more to the cultivation of the soil, 
and in the eighteenth century, even before the War of 
the Revolution, agriculture was the principal employ- 
ment of a majority of the people. Yet it was not until 
some time after the beginning of the present century 
that anything in the line of organized or cooperative 
effort was made, or attempted, in the state, for the gen- 
eral promotion of the interests of agriculture. 

The first agricultural society organized in New Hamp- 
shire was one in the county of Rockingliam, which was 
incorporated by the legislature in 1814. Nothing is re- 
corded of its work for the first two or three years. Two 
years later, the Cheshire County society was incor- 
porated (that county then including also the present 
county of Sullivan), and this society, in the following 
year — 1817 — petitioned the legislature for an appropria- 
tion in aid of its work. Governor Plumer, in his mes- 
sage that year, had commended the cause of agriculture 
to the favorable consideration of that body, and the 
result was that an appropriation of $100 tor each of 
the two societies — the Rockingham and Cheshire — was 



12 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

made at that session. Neither of these societies held a 
fair that year, however; but in 1818, the legislature of 
that year having voted $300 each to these two societies, 
and $200 each to the societies in Hillsborough, Strafford, 
and Grafton counties, which it had just incorporated, 
both societies held fairs, or " cattle shows," as they were 
then more generall}^ known, that of the Cheshire society 
occurring first, on October 7, at Charlestown, and that 
for Rockingham county, later, at Chester. 

This Charlestown fair, at which some very liberal 
premiums were paid, including such as $25 for the best 
pair of working oxen, $15 for the best milch cow, $15 
for the best acre of wheat, etc., is understood to have 
been the first exhibition of the kind ever held in the 
state. It is proper to remark, however, that a fair, in 
the old time and old country acceptation of the term, 
had been held in the town of Londonderry, embracing 
the present town of Derry, from the time of its incor- 
poration under the charter of King George, in 1722, 
down to 1838. This Londonderry fair was provided for 
in the king's charter, in conformity with the ideas and 
habits of the proprietors, who came from the region of 
Londonderry, Ireland, where such gatherings had long 
been in vogue. They were holden twice a year, in May 
and November, their object being to facilitate the sale 
and exchange of stock and merchandise. 

Quite an interest was aroused for a time by these sev- 
eral county societies, one for Coos county having also 
been organized in 1819, and some very successful exhi- 
bitions were held ; but in a few years the interest waned, 
legislative support was also withdrawn, and the socie- 
ties collapsed and went out of existence. One organized 
in the then new county of Merrimack, however, in Feb- 
ruary, 1824, of which Dr. Ebenezer Lerned was the first 
president, and Hon. Horace Chase, secretary, and which 



AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES AND FAIRS. I3 

held the first fair at Sahsbury in October of that year, 
continued its existence, notwithstanding all depressing 
conditions, holding annual exhibitions in different towns 
of the county until its reorganization under a legislative 
charter in 1859, and its acquirement and fitting up of 
permanent exhibition grounds on the plains east of the 
Merrimack river, in Concord, in i860, where its fair 
was held that year and for many years subsequently, up 
to 1874, t^"^^ ^'^^^ ^^^ being in September of that year, 
though a state fair was holden there as late as 1882. 

Meanwhile, a few years previous to 1850, a revival of 
interest in agricultural organization had begun to mani- 
fest itself in the state. The Hillsborough County society 
was reorganized in 1847, and held a fair at Milford in 
the fall of 1849. Agitation for legislative encourage- 
ment of the agricultural interest had been revived, and 
efforts been made to secure the establishment of a State 
Board of Agriculture. On the 12th day of December, 
1849, '^ meeting was held in the City hall in Manchester, 
in response to a call signed by a number of prominent 
farmers in different sections of the state, headed by Hon. 
Asa P. Cate of Northfield, to organize a State Agricul- 
tural society, which was done, Hon, George W. Nes- 
mith of Franklin being elected president ; John S. Walker 
of Claremont, secretary ; and Nathaniel B. Baker of 
Concord, treasurer; with a vice-president from each 
county, and an executive committee of five members. 

This society held a meeting in Concord in June fol- 
lowing, and made an effort, though without success, to 
secure an appropriation from the legislature, in aid of 
its work and that of county societies, legislative agri- 
cultural meetings being held for several evenings in the 
hall of the house of representatives, for the first time in 
its history. The organization was chartered by the legis- 
lature at that session, and its first annual exhibition, or 



14 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

fair, was holden in Concord, October 2 and 3, following. 
The next year, the fair was held in Manchester, and in 
1852 at Meredith Bridge, now Laconia. Subsequent 
fairs were holden in Keene, Dover, and Nashua, as well 
as Concord and Manchester ; but for many years during 
the latter part of the society's active existence, the latter 
city was the place of its exhibition, the last one occur- 
ring in 1885, thougii an exhibition purporting to be a 
state fair was held there in 1889. 

In Sullivan county, a society had been organized in 
1848, and another in Cheshire county soon after, both of 
which held successful exhibitions for many years. The 
Rockingham County societ}^ was reorganized in 1852. 
The towns about Lebanon organized what was known 
as the Connecticut River Valley Agricultural society in 
1847, holding a fair in that town. Ten years later this 
society was reorganized as a Grafton County society, 
and for a long series of years past, down to 1895, main- 
tained its fairs at Plymouth. In 1858, a Belknap County 
organization was formed, which held successful fairs at 
Laconia for a number of years. A Carroll County soci- 
ety was organized in i860, but was a short-lived affair, 
held but one or tw^o exhibitions, and has never been re- 
suscitated. Straftbrd county effected an organization in 
1867, and Coos, in conjunction with Essex county, Vt., 
in 1869, this latter being the only one of the county 
societies that has maintained its organization and con- 
tinued its fairs — the latter being located at Lancaster — 
dowm to the present time. 

Local rivalry, and individual jealousy and ambition, 
soon prompted the organization of other associations in 
many of the counties, which operated to weaken, disin- 
tegrate, and finally destroy some of them. In 1856, the 
Souhegan Agricultural society, embracing the towns in 
the Souhegan valley and the southern part of Hillsbor- 



AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES AND FAIRS. 15 

ough county, was organized, and held fairs for several 
years. In 1859, ^ North Hillsborough society had its 
inception, and held a fair two or three years at Weare. 
The same year, the Contoocook Valley association, em- 
bracing the towns in the section about Hillsborough, 
was formed, and fairs were held there for some time 
with success. A Merrimack River society, so called, es- 
tablished in 1858, had exhibition headquarters in Nashua 
for a number of years. The Oak Park association lield 
fairs at Greenfield for some time, from 1875, '^"•^ ^'^^ 
Piscataquog Agricultural societ}^ was established at 
Goftstown in 187S. 

In Cheshire county, the Ashuelot society was estab- 
lished, at Winchester, in 1863 ; the Piscataqua at Ports- 
mouth, in Rockingham, in 1867 ; the Mascoma Valley 
at Canaan, in Grafton, in 1870; the Kearsarge at War- 
ner, in Merrimack, in 1872 ; and the Suncook Valley at 
Pittsfield about the same time, — the only one of the en- 
tire number that has maintained a fair continuously to 
the present time being the Mascoma Valley. 

In 1876, the Upper Coos and Essex society was organ- 
ized, with headquarters at Colebrook, and has holden 
fairs nearly every year since. In many instances, two 
or three towns have combined in holdincr fairs for one or 
more 3'ears, the most notably successful arrangement of 
this kind being the Bradford and Newbury association, 
which has held remarkably attractive and well-attended 
fairs for about a quarter of a century. Town fairs have 
been held, at one time or another, by nearly half the 
towns in the state, some of them for many years continu- 
ously with marked success, as in the case of Chester, 
Derry, Sanbornton, New London, and others. The 
Rochester fair, started as a town exhibition over twenty 
years ago, soon overshadowed and practically waped 
out tiie Strafford County fair, and for many years past 



l6 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

has maintained interstate proportions, rivaling the New 
England fair in many respects. 

With the decadence of the State Agricultural society, 
and the cessation of its exhibitions, the Grange organ- 
ization came to the front, and organized a State Fair 
association, whose first exhibition was held at Tilton in 
1886, on grounds fitted up for its use by Mr. Charles E. 
Tilton of that place, where successive fairs have been 
held annually ever since, generally with great success ; 
though the public patronage in the way of attendance is 
necessarily less than would be the case near a populous 
business centre. A Grafton and Coos Grange fair has 
also been held, with generally gratifjnng results, at 
Whitefield, for about the same length of time ; while for 
several years another has been held in Keene for Che- 
shire county. The Patrons within the jurisdiction of 
Merrimack County Pomona Grange have organized a 
fair association, and held t^airs on the old Kearsarge 
grounds at River Bow park, Warner, for the last tliree 
years, with good results, and a similar organization for 
Western Rockingham has been in operation for two years. 

All indications now point to the fact that for some years 
to come the agricultural fairs, or annual exhibitions of 
farm and domestic products, will be very generally under 
the control of the Grange, whether for state, county, dis- 
trict, or town ; just as the several subordinate Grange 
organizations have almost entirely done away with the 
numerous farmers' clubs, and other local agricultural 
societies, that flourished so generally from fifteen to 
thirty years ago. 



STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



Up to the year 1870 there was no department of the 
state government, nor any official organization connected 
therewith, having any special cognizance of affairs per- 
tainincr to the state's fundamental interest — a^jriculture — 
or authorized to promote its welfare : although fifty 
years earlier, as far back as 1820, the legislature had 
taken action in that direction, and provided for the estab- 
lishment of a State Board of Agriculture. This board 
was actually organized, held a few meetings, and made 
one report to the legislature, but there is no recorded 
evidence of its having done anything farther. The act 
under which it was established, was approved December 
21, 1820, and pro\'ided that the presidents of the several 
agricultural societies within the state, with one delegate 
chosen from each society, should constitute a Board of 
Agriculture, and should convene on the first Monday 
after the annual meeting of the legislature, at the capitol 
or other place thought proper, any five members consti- 
tuting a quorum, elect a president, secretar}-, and such 
other officers as might be thought proper, receive and 
examine all reports and returns made by the county 
societies within the state, select for publication such of 
them, and such other essays relative to the' improvement 
of agriculture as they should think conducive to the 
advancement of agriculture, and annually publish a 
pamphlet, at the expense of the state, to be distributed 
by means of said agricultural societies to the people, not 
exceeding one thousand copies. It also provided that 



l8 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

it should be the duty of said Board of Agriculture " to 
examine into the organization of said societies, and their 
manner of transacting their business, and to recommend 
such alterations and improvements therein as they may 
deem expedient." 

There were at this time six regularly organized agri- 
cultural societies in the state, one for each county, the 
tirst having been organized in Rockingham county, 
which was incorporated by the legislature in 1814, and 
the second in Cheshire (embracing Sullivan) incorporated 
in June, 1816, while those in Strafford (embracing Bel- 
knap and Carroll), Hillsborough (embracing Merri- 
mack), and Grafton, were incorporated in June, 1818, 
and that in Coos in June, 1819. 

The members of the board thus constituted met at the 
state house, June 11, 1821, agreeable to the provision of 
the law, and adjourned for one week, when an organiza- 
tion was formed by the election of Hon. William Badger 
as president; Hon. Matthew Harvey, secretary ; Hon. 
Samuel Grant, treasurer; and Hon. Amos Kent, Rev. 
Humphrey Moore, and Hon. Samuel Grant, committee 
of publication. The legislature of 1821, then in session, 
passed an act amending the original statute creating the 
board, which was approved June 27, and which pro- 
vided that the annual meeting of the board should there- 
after be held on the second Wednesday in June, and 
that from and after the first Monday following the next 
annual meeting of the legislature, the board should con- 
sist of one delegate from each county society, instead of 
the presidents and delegates as originally provided. 
This legislature also passed a resolution appropriating 
the sum of eight hundred dollars " for the purpose of 
promoting the interest of agriculture and domestic man- 
ufactures in the state," of which the agricultural societies 
of Rockingham, Strafford, Hillsborough, Cheshire, and 



STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. I9 

Grafton were allowed one hundred dollars each, that of 
Coos county fifty dollars, and the Board of Agriculture 
the remaining two hundred and fifty dollars. 

This appropriation presumably defrayed the expense 
of the preparation and publication of the first annual 
report of the board, which was presented to the next 
session of the legislature, that of 1822, and which was 
embraced in a pamphlet of 135 pages, including preface, 
the laws instituting the board, a brief report of the 
organization, an introductory essay on the rise and 
progress of agriculture, and a review of its condition in 
the state, essays on manure, rotation of crops, culture of 
wheat, culture of Indian corn, and culture of English tur- 
nips, and an address delivered before the Hillsborough 
County Agricultural society, at Hopkinton, October 17, 
1821, by Rev. Humphrey Moore, who is also understood 
to have written the introductory essay, and most of the 
others. No other report of the board appears to have 
been made, and the board itself seems to have relapsed 
into " innocuous desuetude," and disappeared from 
existence. 

Efforts had been made at different times previous to 
1870, to establish a new Board of Agriculture, but with- 
out avail, although nearly the requisite strength in the 
legislature was more than once secured, but in that year 
a measure was passed without substantial opposition, 
which was approved by the governor July 2, and which 
provided for the appointment by the governor and 
council, of " ten practical and intelligent citizens, one 
from each count}^ in the state, who shall constitute a 
Board of Agriculture, and hold their oflices for three 
years." The persons appointed were authorized to 
meet, at such time and place as the first named might 
designate, choose a chairman, appoint a secretary, and 
prescribe his duties. The law provided that they should 



20 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

" investigate such subjects in relation to improvements 
in agriculture and kindred arts as they shall think 
proper," also that they should " cause to be analyzed 
samples of such commercial fertilizers as may from time 
to time be offered for sale in this state, collect and dis- 
tribute grain and other seeds, keep lull records of their 
proceedings," and also authorized them to " take, hold 
in trust for the state, and exercise control over, donations 
made for promoting agricultural education and the gen- 
eral interests of husbandry." It was also provided that 
they should solicit returns and reports from the different 
agricultural societies in tlie state, and furnish blanks for 
the purpose ; also that they should make a full report to 
the governor of all their doings, on or before the first 
day of May annually, with such recommendations and 
suggestions as in their judgment the interests of agricul- 
ture shall require, together with a detailed and explicit 
statement of all expenses incurred by them. It was 
expressly provided that the members of the board should 
receive no compensation for services, but should be 
entitled to receive their expenses necessarily incurred in 
the legitimate discharge of their duties. 

Soon after the passage of the act, the governor and 
council appointed the following named gentlemen as 
members of the board provided for : 

Merrimack county — Moses Humphrey, Concord. 

Rockingham count}' — ^J. Frank Lawrence, Epping. 

Strafford county — Charles Jones, Milton. 

Belknap countv — Thomas J. Whipple, Laconia. 

Carroll county — W. H. H. Mason, Moultonborough. 

Hillsborough county — James O. Adams, Manchester. 

Cheshire county — Sampson W. Buffum, Winchester. 

Sullivan county — Edward H. Brown, Cro^'don. 

Grafton county — Luther B. Hoskins, Lyman. 

Coos county — Nathan R. Perkins, Jefferson. 



STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 21 

In response to the proper call, these gentlemen, with 
the exception ot" the member from Belknap county, met 
in the council chamber, at the state house, and organ- 
ized with Hon. Moses Humphre\' ot" Concord as chair- 
man, and James O. Adams of Manchester as secretary- 
Subsequent meetings were held at Manchester, Sep- 
tember 7, and at Concord, October 14, at the latter of 
which a sub-committee was appointed to prepare and 
issue an address to the farmers of the state, which was 
done. The first public meeting of the board was held in 
Eagle hall, Concord, November 29 and 30, various 
topics of interest to farmers being discussed at the 
several sessions, by different speakers, including Hon. 
Simon Brown of Concord, Mass., Col. David M. Clough 
of Canterbury, J. F. Lawrence of Epping, S. C. Pattee 
and Levi Bartlett, of Warner, Joseph B. Walker of Con- 
cord, John L. Keiley of Franklin, Dr. W. H. H. Mason 
of Moultonborough, Hiram R. Roberts of Rollinsford, 
and many others. Other public meetings were held, 
during the ensuing winter, at Milford, Winchester, 
Keene, Lebanon, Derry, Chester, Meredith, and Exeter. 
During each subsequent winter season a greater or 
less number of these public meetings, generally known 
as " Farmers" Institutes," have been held in different 
sections of the state, under the auspices of the board, the 
series for the last season, commencing early in the 
autumn of 1896, having been the most extended, the 
most generally attended, and by far the most profitable. 
At these meetings, generally, practical subjects, bear- 
ing directly upon the agriculture of the state, are taken 
up and presented at length by able speakers, specially 
qualified, and then opened to the meeting for general 
discussion as far as time will permit. For many years 
past it has been the practice of the board to hold a mid- 
summer field meeting (^of late in connection with the 



22 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

State Grange) either at the beach or the lakeside, and a 
general two days' winter meeting, which has also for 
some years been in connection with that of the Granite 
State Dairymen's association, at both of which able 
speakers are heard upon subjects of general or special 
importance. 

The names of the gentlemen who have served for 
greater or less periods of time as members of the board 
since its institution in 1870, are as follows, the same 
being arranged by counties : 

Rockingham county — J. Frank Lawrence, Epping ; 
John M. Weare, Seabrook ; William H. Hills, Plaistow ; 
John D. Lyman, Exeter. Mr. Lyman has served con- 
tinuously since January 28, 1885. 

Strafford county — Charles Jones, Milton ; Hiram R. 
Roberts, Rollinstbrd ; Joshua B. Smith, Durham ; 
Albert DeMerritt, Durham ; Lucien Thompson, Dur- 
ham ; James M. Hayes, Dover. Mr. Jones resigned 
shortly after the organization of the board, and was suc- 
ceeded by Judge Roberts, who served five years. Mr. 
Hayes, the present member, has served since September, 
1892. 

Belknap county — Thomas J. Whipple, Laconia ; 
Thomas Cogswell, Gilmanton ; Jeremiah W. Sanborn, 
Gilmanton ; Charles W. Hackett, Belmont; George S. 
Philbrick, Tilton : George H. Wadleigh, Tilton. Col. 
Whipple never served, and Mr. Cogswell was soon 
appointed in his place, resigning in 1872, when Mr. 
Sanborn was appointed. Mr. Wadleigh, the present 
member, was appointed in November, 1894. 

Carroll county — W. H. H. Mason, Moultonborough ; 
Samuel B. Shackford, Conway; W. H. H. Mason, 
again ; Alonzo Towle, Freedom ; Charles B. Hoyt, 
Sandwich. Dr. Mason served six years the first, and 
nine years the second time, making a longer service 



STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 23 

than that of any other member except Mr. Humphrey, 
while Dr. Towle served nine years, up to November, 
1897, w^hen Mr. Hoyt was appointed. 

Merrimack countv had but one member, Hon. Moses 
Humphrey of Concord, who has been the presiding 
officer of the board from the start, until the appointment, 
in November, 1897, of Hon. Joseph B. Walker of the 
same city, upon the completion of twenty-seven years' 
service by Mr. Humphrey, and his expressed desire to 
be relieved from further labor.* Mr. Walker, however, 

* Moses Humphrey was born in Hinsham, Mass., October 20. 1807. His edu- 
cational opportunities were limited, and his occupation in early life was that 
of a sailor, which he pursued so industriously and intelligently that he soon 
came to the command of a vessel. He followed the sea for some years, but 
finally engaged in the manufacture of mackerel kits, and, having invented 
certain improvements in the process, he established himself in business in 
that line at Croydon Flat, in this state, where he had visited relatives in youth, 
and found a wife. Here he remained several years, until, in 1851, he removed 
to Concord, establishing his manufactorj^ at West Concord, where he con- 
tinued to carry on the work for some time, meanwhile engaging to a consider- 
able extent in agriculture, making many experiments, and taking special in- 
terest in corn culture, which, as he has always insisted, has been too greatly 
neglected by New Hampshire farmers. His theory is that New Hampshire 
can and should produce all the corn consumed within its borders, and that it 
can be done with profit to those directly concerned. 

Taking a strong interestln matters of public concern, Mr. Humphrey was 
chosen a member of the common council of the city of Concord upon the es- 
tablishment of the city government in 18.53, and the following year was presi- 
dent of that body. The next two years he was a member of the board of alder- 
men. In 1861 and 1862 he was Mayor of the city, a position of unusual respon- 
sibility from the multiplicity of important duties incident to the lireaking (uit 
and prosecution of the Civil War, and again, in 1865, the closing year of the war, 
he was called to the same otfice. In 1857 and 1858, he was a member of the .state 
legislature, and again in 1875 and 1876, rendering efficient service both terms. 
He was a member of the executive council of the state during the incumbency 
of Gov. Onslow Stearns, in 1869 and 1870, and, upon the creation of the State 
Board of Agriculture, for whose establishment he had long labored, he was ap- 
pointed a member of the same for the county of Merrimack, and continued in 
that position, from term to term, for twenty -seven years, until November, 
1897, serving continuousl.v as president of the Board, and devoting much time 
and labor to the success of its work. 

Mr. Humphrey initiated and carried out the work of building the Concord 
street railway, was its president and superintendent for many years, and 
effected the change to electricity as a motive power, and has been foremost in 
many movements and enterprises looking to the progress of his city and 
state. In politics he has been an earnest Republican. In religion he is a Uni- 
versalist, and has long been prominent in his denomination in city, state, and 
nation. On the occurrence of his ninetieth birthday anniversary, he was hon- 
ored with a public reception in the State House at Concord, which was a 
marked demonstration of the high esteem in which he is held bj- the people. 




Hon. Moses Humphrey, 

For Twenty-Seven Years President of the State Board of Agriculture. 



STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 25 

has been one of the most valued speakers at the insti- 
tutes held by the board ever since its organization. 

Hillsborough county — James O. Adams, Manchester ; 
B. F. Hutchinson, Milford ; D. H. Goodell, Antrim; 
Joseph Farnum, Peterborough ; George A. Wason, 
New Boston; Joseph A. Hall, Brookline ; Herbert O. 
Hadley, Temple. Mr. Hall, who had served two years 
upon his second term, died in August, 1897, and Mr. 
Hadley was appointed in his place. 

Cheshire county — Sampson W. Buffum, Winchester ; 
George K. Harvey, Surry; Jason S. Perry, Rindge ; 
Willard Bill, Jr., Westmoreland. Messrs. Harvey and 
Perry served nine years each. Mr. Bill was appointed 
in September, 1895. 

Sullivan county — Edward H. Brown, Croydon ; John 
S. Walker, Claremont ; Edmund Burke, Newport; 
Hiram Parker, Lempster ; Charles McDaniel, Spring- 
field ; Bela Graves, Unity ; William H. Sisson, Cornish. 
Mr. Brown resigned in December following his appoint- 
ment, and was succeeded by Mr. Walker. Messrs. 
Parker and McDaniel served two terms each. Mr. Sis- 
son was appointed in July, 1896. 

Grafton county — Luther B. Hoskins, Lyman ; Charles 
F. Kingsbury, Lyme ; C. M. Tuttle, Littleton ; John E. 
Carr, North Haverhill ; Charles E. Swazey, Bethlehem ; 
George W. Mann, Benton; Edward E. Bishop, Bethle- 
hem. Mr. Bishop was appointed in November, 1897, 
to succeed Mr. Mann, at the expiration of his second 
term, December 26, 1897. 

Coos county — Nathan R. Perkins, Jefferson ; Horace 
F. Holton, Lancaster; Barton G. Towne, Lancaster; 
S. B. Whittemore, Colebrook ; F. P. Covell, Colebrook ; 
Osgood F. Covell, Colebrook ; Joseph D. Howe, Lan- 
caster ; Loren J. Miner, Whitefield. Mr. Whittemore 
served longer than any other Coos member — from 1881 
to 1889. Mr. Miner was appointed in July 1896. 



26 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

Thus it appears that fifty-four different men have been 
appointed upon the Board of Agricuhure since its estab- 
hshment, serving from a few months to the full period of 
twenty-seven years, each, A few of these have been 
lawyers, several doctors, some merchants, and manu- 
factures ; but the most have been farmers, and all, or 
nearly all, directly engaged in agriculture to some 
extent. Some have rendered little aid in the work of 
the board, but most have manifested strong interest, and 
rendered such service as time and ability made possible, 
while a number have been quite active and efficient in 
arranging and addressing meetings, and carrying out 
the general woi-k of the board. 

The original act establishing the Board of Agriculture, 
neither defined the duties of the secretary of the board, 
nor fixed his compensation, but left the board, itself, to 
do the former, and the governor and council the latter. 
But by an act approved July 3, 1872, the legislature pre- 
scribed at length and in detail, the duties of the secretary, 
making him indeed the executive officer or agent of the 
board, and practically putting its work into his hands, as 
well as extending the same materially beyond that origi- 
nally prescribed, and at the same time fixed his salary at 
$1,000 per annum. The revised Public Statutes of 1891 
put the salary of the secretary at $1,500 per annum. 

Mr. James O. Adams, of Manchester, who was the 
original Hillsborough county member, was elected secre- 
tary upon the organization of the board, and was con- 
tinued in that position until his death February 7, 1887. 
Mr. Adams was a ready writer, and an easy speaker, 
and contributed largely, both with pen and voice, to pro- 
mote the work of the organization. 

Mr. Adams was succeeded by Nahum J. Bachelder of 
Andover, then secretary of the State Grange, Patrons of 
Husbandry, between which organization and the Board 



STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 2^ 

of Agriculture the best friends of agricultural progress 
in the state had long felt it desirable to effect greater 
harmon}' and more perfect cooperation, which result was 
largely accomplished through Mr. Bachelder's appoint- 
ment to the position which he has since filled with great 
credit to himself, and to the complete satisfaction of the 
New Hampshire farmers and the public at large. 

Since Mr. Bachelder's selection as secretary of the 
board the duties of the position have been materially 
increased through statutory enactments. The legisla- 
ture of 18S9 enacted a measure authorizing the governor 
and council " to designate a person to collect necessary 
information in regard to the opportunities for developing 
the agricultural resources of the state through immigra- 
tion," and to cause the facts obtained and statement of 
the advantages offered, to be circulated as the governor 
and council might consider best, and appropriating 
$2,500, annually for the purpose. The governor and 
council designated the secretary of the State Board of 
Agriculture to attend to the work in question, and by 
the terms of the revised Public Statutes of 1891, he is 
specifically charged with that responsibility, the per- 
manent annual appropriation being reduced to $2,000. 
The secretary is also made, by the terms of the act 
establishing a state board of cattle commissioners, a 
member of that board, and a large share of the labor 
involved in carrying out the provisions of the law has 
devolved upon him. In both these important spheres of 
duty he has rendered zealous, faithful, and efficient 
service. 



NEW HAMPSHIRE STATE GRANGE, PATRONS 
OF HUSBANDRY. 



Of the many farmers' organizations brought into exist- 
ence in recent years for advancing the interests of hus- 
bandry, none have achieved so great success or assumed 
such a permanent character as the Grange of the Patrons 
ot Husbandry. The foundation of the organization was 
laid in the city of Washington, D. C, by seven men, 
v^'hose names have since become household words through- 
out the country. The names of these men, which are 
always spoken with reverence and respect, are, William 
Saunders, John Trimble, F. M. McDowell, J. R. 
Thompson, W. M. Ireland, O. H. Kelley, and A. B. 
Grosh. These men were connected with the agricultural 
department of the federal government, and thus had an 
opportunity of knowing the needs of the agricultural 
class, and realized the necessity of some organization, 
the work of which could be brought into closer contact 
with the farmers than was possible through a national or 
state department. After a thorough study of the ques- 
tion and widespread investigation, covering months of 
earnest and persistent work, the framework of the organ- 
ization was perfected, and submitted to the farmers of 
the country for an endorsement, on the fourth day of 
December, 1867. The men who have the honor of bring- 
ing the organization into existence, and who have the 
heartfelt gratitude of the farming class from Maine to 
California, lived to witness the grand result of their 



STATE GRANGE, PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY. 29 

efforts, and three still survive, including the present 
worthy secretary, John Trimble. 

The farmers were somewhat suspicious at first of the 
new organization, and during the first year its progress 
was slow. Its practical quafities for advancing the inter- 
ests of the farmer and iiis family were appreciated as soon 
as understood, and Granges were organized with great 
rapidity throughout the length and breadth of tlie land. 

The first State Grange was organized in Minnesota, 
February 23, 1869, and the second in Iowa, January 12, 
187 1. The movement did not reach New England as 
early as some other sections of the country. The first 
Grange in New Hampshire was organized at Exeter, 
August 19, 1873, known as Gilman Grange, No. i, with 
Hon. John D. Lyman, master. A meeting was held in 
Manchester, December 23 of the same year, for the pur- 
pose of organizing a State Grange. Fifteen of the 
seventeen subordinate Granges organized in New Hamp- 
shire previous to this date were represented at the meeting. 
T. A. Thompson, lecturer of the National Grange, pre- 
sided, and organized the New Hampshire State Grange, 
with the followincr ofiicers : 

Master — D. T. Chase, Claremont. 
Overseer — C. H. DeRochemont, Kingston. 
Lecturer — John D. Lyman, Exeter. 
Stezvard — L. T. Sanborn, Hampton Falls. 
Assistant Stezuard — I. A. Reed, Newport. 
Chaflain — ^J. F. Keyes, Ashland. 
Treasurer — D. M. Clough, Canterbury. 
Secretary — C. C. Shaw, Milford. 
Gate-keeper — J. U. Prince, Amherst. 
C^;-^5— Mrs. C. C. Shaw. 
Pomona — Mrs. J. U. Prince. 
Flora— Mi-s. A. B. Tallant, East Concord. 
Lady Assistant Stezvard — Mrs. L. T. Sanborn. 



30 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

Since the organization of the New Hampshire State 
Grange, two hundred and sixty-two subordinate Granges 
have been organized in the state, thirteen of which have 
been brought into existence during the year 1897. Two 
hundred and twenty-eight of the total number organized 
hold meetings regularly and are doing active work. 

The first Pomona Grange was organized in New 
Hampshire in 1883, and the present number of Pomona 
Granges in the state is sixteen. The total membership 
of the subordinate Granges is about twenty thousand, 
there having been a net gain of about fifteen hun- 
dred during the present year, while the membership 
in the countr}' at large reaches into the hundreds of thou- 
sands. The total membership of the Pomona Granges 
in New Hampshire is about six thousand. The subordi- 
nate and Pomona Granges of New Hampshire are hold- 
ing about five thousand meetings annually for the 
discussion of agricultural subjects and the advancement 
of their members in social and educational lines. 

D. T. Chase served as master of the State Grange 
until 1880, when he was succeeded by George A. Wason 
of New Boston. William H. Stinson of Dunbarton was 
elected master, in December, 1883, and served three 
years, when he resigned, and was succeeded by Charles 
McDaniel of Springfield. Mr. McDaniel served five 
years, and in December, 1891, the present master, N. J. 
Bachelder, was elected. The other officers for 1897 are : 

Overseer — E. E. Rugg, Keene. 

Lecturer — Hezekian Scammon, Exeter. 

Stezvard — Howard B. Holman, East Tilton. 

Assistant Stezvard — Herbert O. Hadley, Temple. 

Chaplain — Rev. E. Howard Fisher, Gilford. 

Treasurer — Hon. Jonathan M. Taylor, Sanbornton. 

Secretary — Emri C. Hutchinson, Milford. 

Gate-keeper — Adam Dickey, Manchester. 



STATE GRANGE, PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY. 3 1 

Ceres — Mrs. N. J. Bachelder, East Andover. 

Pomona — Mrs. S. N. Ball, Washington. 

Flora — Miss Jeannie McMillan, North Conway. 

Lady Assistant Stezuard — Mrs. E. E. Rugg, Keene. 

Alonzo Towle of Freedom is the general deputy, and 
the master and secretary, with John M. Carr, Wilmot, 
Joseph D. Roberts, Rollinsford, and James E. Shepard, 
New London, constitute the. executive committee. 

The Patrons' Relief Association, which is a life insur- 
ance compan}^ for members of the Grange, was organized 
in 1876. 

The present Grange Mutual Fire Insurance Company 
was organized in 1888, for insuring propert}^ owned by 
members of the Grange against loss by tire. This com- 
pany has risks in force amounting to three million dollars, 
and is rapidly growing. The total expense to the insured 
has been less than one half of one per cent, for a three 
years' period of insurance. 

The New Hampshire Grange Fair Association was 
organized in 1886, and has held twelve annual exhibi- 
tions, generally with marked success. The premium 
exhibits are limited to members of the Grange. 

The Grange has wielded a strong influence in national 
and state legislation by an intelligent and conservative 
discussion of measures affecting the farming interests. 
It appeals to the judgment of the legislators by creating 
a public sentiment in favor of just measures rather than 
by open hostility or threatening action. It regards differ- 
ence of opinion as no crime, but earnestly and effectually 
maintains its position if sound and right. 

There is no pai'ty politics in the Grange, and it holds 
itself above the tricks and schemes of cheap political 
manipulators. It aims to secure the nomination for office 
of honest and trusty men, who will stand by the indus- 
trial interests, in all parties, leaving its members to 



32 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

affiliate with that party by which, in their opinion, the 
interests of the country will be best subserved. 

No secret organization was ever conceived and given 
birth amid more bitter opposition or found in its pathway 
more obstacles to overcome than the Grange ; and yet, no 
association of similar character ever entered a wider field 
for usefulness, had greater possibilities before it, or won 
in the same time a higher measure of regard from intel- 
ligent people for its work. 

The prime cause of antipathy to the organization at the 
start, was an erroneous impression in regard to its objects 
and purposes. The Grange is founded upon principles 
of such broad and philanthropic character that a thorough 
investigation must result in a higher appreciation of its 
ennobling influence. It is an organization formed not 
merely for amusement, but for the grand object of assist- 
ing the farmer and his family, not only to agricultural 
knowledge, but to social and educational culture and to a 
higher standard of morality. It breaks up the monotony 
and isolation of farm life by providing means of social 
enjoyment, the absence of which has been a prolific 
source of deserted farms. 

It furnishes the means by which the farmer's education 
and mental development may be continued in connection 
with the daily avocations of farm life, and thus enables 
him in some degree to keep pace with his associates in 
other business and professions whose daily duties require 
mental activity and discipline. 

In the words of one of the distinguished founders of 
the order, under its influence " Honesty is inculcated, 
education nurtured, temperance supported, brotherly love 
cultivated, and charity made an essential characteristic." 
Another characteristic which commends itself to all, is 
the proper appreciation of the abilities and sphere of 
woman, by admitting her to full membership. Through 



STATE GRANGE, PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY. ^^ 

these various lines, this organization carries sunshine and 
happiness to thousands of American farm homes, cuhure 
and refinement to members of farmers' families, and 
exerts an elevating influence upon the rural population of 
the entire land. 

In addition to its practical benefits in making agricul- 
ture more profitable, we should remember its higher 
objects, which are included in the education, culture, and 
refinement of the farmer and his family, developing a 
better and higher manhood and womanhood in the 
broadest sense of the term, thus contributing to the repu- 
tation and good name of the state and nation. It is no 
wonder that such an organization has received the hearty 
endorsement of the more intelligent farmers throughout 
the country, and become so prosperous and popular in 
the Granite state, for its principles need only to be under- 
stood to be appreciated. 

Notwithstanding the commendable progress which the 
Grange has made in New Hampshire, it has by no means 
reached the zenith of its prosperity. The number of sub- 
ordinate Granges shovild be still increased, for there are 
agricultural towns at present without the organization, and 
the number of meetings should be increased in many cases. 
When these things are accomplished, twentv-five meet- 
ings being held in each town during the year, the organ- 
ization will be so far perfected as to extend to all sections 
the elevating power of the Grange, in purifying the social 
atmosphere, extending the benefits of education, aiding 
and abetting the work of the church, and advancing 
the interests of New Hampshire throughout the entire 
rural community. 
3 



N. H. COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND 
THE MECHANIC ARTS. 



In compliance with the terms of the act of congress, 
approved July 2, 1862, making a conditional grant of 
land to the several states, in aid of the maintenance of 
colleges whose " leading object shall be, without exclud- 
ing other scientific and classical studies, and including 
military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as 
are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts," which 
grant had been formally accepted by act of the legisla- 
ture in the following year, an act was passed by the 
legislature of 1866, establishing the "New Hampshire 
College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts," and 
providing for its location at Hanover, in connection with 
Dartmouth college. In accordance with this act, the 
institution was organized and opened to students in 
1868. 

One of the strong reasons operating to insure the 
location at Hanover was found in the fact that Hon. 
David Culver of Lyme had left an estate looking to the 
establishment of an agricultural college in that town, but, 
the conditions imposed not having been accepted, the 
property had, in accordance with a further provision, 
gone to Dartmouth college to be used tor agricultural 
instruction; w^hile the income of $4,800 per annum, 
realized from the $80,000 for which the 150,000 acres of 



^6 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE, 

land granted by congress had been sold, was entirely 
inadequate for the work in hand. 

To provide a suitable building for recitation-rooms 
and other necessary purposes, Dartmouth college offered 
$25,000 from the Culver fund, conditioned upon the 
appropriation of at least $15,000 more by the state, 
which was given, and the building known as Culver 
hall was commenced in 1869, and completed in June, 
187 1. Meanwhile, Hon. John Conant of Jaffrey had 
become interested, and had purchased a farm adjacent 
to the college, which he gave to the institution. A con- 
tiguous tract of land, opposite Culver hall, was also 
purchased by the college, and upon it Conant hall, 
designed to furnish rooms and board for the students, 
was subsequently erected, and opened for use in 1874, 
Mr. Conant having given $5,000 toward the expense^ 
and the state the balance of the total cost, which 
exceeded $20,000. Later Mr. Conant increased his 
benefactions to the college, adding largely to the farm, 
and establishing a scholarship for each town in Cheshire 
county. 

The endowment income, with the small receipts from 
tuition, even upon the liberal terms of the arrangement 
with Dartmouth, proved inadequate for the maintenance 
of the college, and aid from the state was necessary. 
Up to 1875, about $15,000 in all, aside from the amount 
given for the construction of Culver hall, had been given 
by the legislature, and a debt of $7,000 had been con- 
tracted. More assistance was needed, and the legisla- 
ture was called upon to provide it. In 1877 an appro- 
priation of $3,000 per annum for six years was voted, 
$1,000 per annum to be used toward payment of the 
debt, $1,000 for salary of a farm superintendent, and 
$1,000 toward the erection of a new farm house. In 
1883 an appropriation of $2,000 a year for two years 



N. H. COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE. 37 

was voted, and in 1885 a perpetual appropriation of 
$3,000 per annum was provided. 

vSince 1877 the college has had an independent faculty, 
whose members have been gradually increased in num- 
ber from four to fourteen, and the course of study has 
extended from three years, at the start, to four years. 
The standard of admission has also been materially 
raised. When the institution opened, examination was 
required only in arithmetic, geography, and English 
grammar. History was added in 1869, algebra in 1877, 
and physiology in 1886. In 1889 pl^ne geometry was 
recommended, and made obligatory after 1891. At 
present, the standard is practically the same as for admis- 
sion to the scientitic departments of other colleges, and 
the requirements are stated in detail in the catalogue. 

By an act of congress, approved March 2, 1887, the 
sum of $15,000 annually was granted to each state 
accepting the provisions of the act of 1862, for the estab- 
lishment and maintenance of agricultural experiment 
stations " to aid in acquiring and diffusing among the 
people of the United States useful and practical inform- 
ation on subjects connected with agriculture, and to pro- 
mote scientitic investigation and experiment respecting 
the principles and application of agricultural science." 
The acceptance of this grant by the state furnished 
means never before enjoyed for thorough work in scien- 
titic and practical agriculture. In 1890 the means and 
facilities for general instruction were greatly increased 
by the act of congress appropriating to each of the states 
the sum of $15,000 for the first year, the same to be 
increased by $1,000 annually until the amount of $25,000 
should be reached, whereafter the appropriation should 
be continuous at the latter figure. 

The bequest of the late Benjamin Thompson of Dur- 
ham, of his " Warner farm " in that town, and personal 



38 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



estate to the value of $363,000, to the state of New 
Hampshire, for the establishment and maintenance of an 
agricultural school to be located on said farm, the scope 
of instruction being extended, by a codicil to the origi- 
nal will, to include also the mechanic arts, aroused a 
deeper interest than had before existed, in industrial 
education in the state, and the legislature of 1891, by an 
act approved March 5, accepted the gift, and proceeded, 
by appropriate enactments, to provide for the removal of 
the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the 
Mechanic Arts from Hanover to Duriiam, and the con- 
struction of the necessary buildings and equipments to 
meet the requirements of the institution upon its enlarged 
and far more promising basis. 




333 




The trustees of the college, in compliance with the 
terms of the act of April, 1891, providing for the removal, 
and appropriating $100,000 for the purpose, took imme- 
diate action in that direction. All the real estate of the 
college in Hanover was disposed of at private sale for 
$28,000 cash, and arrangements were made for repay- 
ment to the state by Dartmouth college of the $15,000 
appropriated toward the erection of Culver hall. In 
entering upon the work of removal and rebuilding the 
college in its new location, the trustees found themselves 



N. H. COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE. 39 

facing a problem of no small difficulty ; but the best 
available talent was invoked in laying out the grounds, 
locating the buildings, and developing the natural beauty 
of the new surroundings. The track of the Boston & 
Maine railroad at present runs through the college 
grounds, but the road has in contemplation the removal 
of the track to the west of all the college buildings, thus 
removing the objectionable effects of the present loca- 
tion. In 1892, work was begun for the erection of an 
experiment station, building a barn, a science hall, work- 
shops, and boiler house, and the main college building to 
contain the office, recitation-rooms, library, museum, 
hall, etc., and carried forward to completion as expedi- 
tiousl}^ as possible. All the buildings are of brick with 
the exception of the barn, and are thoroughly con- 
structed upon approved modern plans. A steam-heating 
plant warms all the buildings from a central station so 
as to secure the most comfort to the occupants and avoid 
the danger of fire. A dam constructed across a small 
stream, about half a mile from the buildings, furnishes 
a sufficient supply of water for all the purposes of the 
college. 

Since its establishment at Durham, the enrolment of 
students has increased from twelve to one hundred and 
forty. The courses of study have been advanced and 
broadened, and the standard raised, little by little. To 
meet a demand from the smaller agricultural towns, a 
two years' course in agriculture has been inaugurated, 
and has proved successful. In response to a similar 
demand, a preparatory course of one year's length has 
been added, which is designed to bridge the gap be- 
tween the college and the district school. 

The college offers various courses, which may be 
scheduled thus : 



40 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 





4y 


ears. 




2 






4 






4 






4 






4 






4 






4 3' 


ears. 




I y 


ear. 




4 weeks 




4 


( ( 



Course in Agriculture 

Two years' Agricultural Course 

Course in Mechanical Engineering 

Course in Electrical Engineering 

Course in Technical Chemistry 

Course in Agricultural Chemistry 

Course in Agricultural Biology . 

General Course 

Preparatory Course . 

Course in Dairying . 

Summer Course in Science 



It is impossible to treat of all these courses in detail, in 
this connection. The time alloted each suggests its pos- 
sibilities. Information in full may be gathered from the 
catalogue, copies of which, as well as the bulletins of the 
Experiment Station, may be had upon application by mail 
to the president of the college or the secretary of the 
faculty. 

The legislature of 1893 made an appropriation of 
$35,000 for the benefit of the college, for completing and 
furnishing the buildings, and for other purposes, since 
which the only appropriation originating in a request 
from the college was one of $3,105 made by the last 
legislature for the purchase of land. 

The last two legislatures, however, have appropriated 
$2,500 per annum for the benefit of the two years' course 
in agriculture and the horticultural department, estab- 
lished under direction of the legislature of 1895. 

Reference should be made in this connection to the 
men to whom the college has been specially indebted 
for their interest and labors in its behalf, most of whom 
are now deceased. Professor Ezekiel W. Dimond, who 
died in 1876, was a most devoted and faithful laborer for 
the welfare of the institution in its earlier days, and made 
great sacrifices in its behalf. President Smith, who was 
strongly interested in the inception of the college move- 



N. H. COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE. 



41 



ment and its establishment at Hanover, and gave thought 
and effort toward its success, resigned March i, 1872, 
and died soon after. Hon, John Conant, whose financial 
benefactions to the college exceeded those of all others 
up to that time, died April 6, 1877. Hon. George W. 
Nesmith of Franklin, who was elected president of 
the board of trustees after the resignation of President 
Smith, and held the position until his death in 1890, gave 
great aid in various directions, and his memory has ap- 
propriately been perpetuated by giving the name of 
Nesmith Hall to the new Experiment Station building at 
Durham. Ex-Gov. Frederick Smyth, who was the 
treasurer of the college from the start, and who, having 
signed the act of incorporation as governor, naturally 
took a strong interest in its welfare and progress, never 
failed the institution in any time of need, while health 
and strength remained. The death of ex-Gov. Benjamin F. 
Prescott removed from the board of trustees another tower 
of strength, whose clear insight, fearless spirit, and persist- 
ent fidelity gave inestimable value to his connection with 
the college. After the death of Judge Nesmith, Hon. 
Lyman D. Stevens of Concord was chosen president of 
the college, and served in that capacity with great effi- 
ciency and earnest devotion for three years, until July, 
1893, when he was succeeded by the present incumbent, 
Charles S. Murkland, Ph. D. 




GRANITE STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCI- 
ATION. 



While some excellent butter and cheese was made in 
the state of New Hampshire twenty-hve or fifty years 
ago, the great bulk of those products sent out of 
the state was of very ordinary quality, and the term 
" New Hampshire butter," was never thought of by any- 
body as embodying anything in the shape of a guaranty 
of excellence. So far as New England was concerned, 
Vermont was looked to for really first-class butter, and 
such continued to be the case, in fact, until within the 
last six years or less. Indeed, it was not until the 
unbiased judgment and authoritative decision of the expert 
judges at the great Columbian exposition, or World's fair, 
in Chicago in 1893, gave New Hampshire the post of 
honor by giving her butter exhibits the highest average 
record attained by any state or any country, and the fact 
was published to the world, that any one came to under- 
stand or believe that New Hampshire butter was specially 
desirable in the market or on the table. 

Now, however, the situation is materially different. 
Vermont butter, though just as good as ever and unques- 
tionably better, since Vermont dairymen, as well as those 
of other states, have kept pace with the progress of the 
times, no longer commands the place of honor in the 
Boston market, or on the tables of the leading hotels and 
the most fastidious families. New Hampshire is now 
abreast and even in the lead in this regard, and unless 
there is a change for the worse in the progressive spirit 



GRANITE STATE DAIRYMEN's ASSOCIATION. 43 

of her dairymen and creamery managers, that proud 
and satisfactory position will be maintained in the years 

to come. 

The leading instrumentality in effecting this improved 
condition of things is the organization known as the 
"Granite State Dairymen's Association," the credit of 
whose inception is due to a few enterprising dairymen, 
prominent among whom are the two gentlemen who now 
hold the offices of president and vice-president respect- 
ively ^James M. Connor of Hopkinton and Charles H. 

Waterhouse then of Harrington, more recently of the 
world-renowned Hillside Creamery, Cornish, and now at 
the head of the dairy school at the New Hampshire Col- 
lege of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts, at Durham — 
the former having been president from the start. 

This association was organized in Concord, March i8, 
1884, a preliminary meeting having been held in Man- 
chester during the previous month, upon a call issued by 
Mr. Waterhouse, and in pursuance of the suggestions of 
published articles in various newspapers of the state, 
written by Mr. Connor. The otiicers elected upon the 
organization of the associadon were as follows : 

President— ]^n\itii M. Connor, Hopkinton. 
Vice-prestdenls — Isaac W. Springfield, Rochester: 
Geo. B. Wilhams, Walpole. 

Sccretar\ — ^James O. Adams, Manchester. 
rra/5«;c/— Charles N. Clough, Canterbury. 

Trustees. 

Strafford county— C. H. Waterhouse, Harrington. 
SulHvan county— P. M. Rossiter, Claremont. 
Rockingham county — C. H. Hayes, Portsmouth. 
Hillsborough county — ^J. I. Burns, Milford. 
Cheshire county— J. H. Milville, Nelson. 
Merrimack county— J. I. Gerrish, Webster. 



44 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

Belknap county — George Brown, Tilton. 
Carroll county — Charles H. Mason, Moultonborough. 
Grafton county — Charles H. Boynton, Lisbon. 
Coos county — Samuel T. No^-es, Colebrook, 

Mr. Connor has been continued in the presidency of the 
association from year to year, while Mr. Adams served 
as secretary up to the time of his death in 1887, when he 
was succeeded by James L. Gerrish of Webster, who has 
since held the position. 

The annual membership fee of the association is one 
dollar, while live dollars pays for a life membership. 
While up to the present time too few of the dairymen of 
the state have united with the association, and taken an 
interest in its work, it has accomplished much for the 
advancement of this great industry, which has become a 
leading feature of American agriculture, and is destined 
to increase in importance from year to year. In 1886, 
the association voted to have an exhibit of dairy products 
in connection with the state fair (the last exhibition held 
by the New Hampshire Agricultural Society), the prizes 
offered being provided by the association and the agricul- 
tural society jointly, the former raising the money for the 
purpose by subscription. 

The following winter, a meeting was held by the asso- 
ciation at the New Hampshire Experiment Station in 
Hanover, upon the invitation of Director George H. 
Whitcher, who offered, in behalf of the station, to pro- 
vide the means for a practical test of the comparative 
advantages of the two systems of creaming — cold, deep 
setting, and centrifugal separation. The meeting was an 
interesting one, the rivalry developed most exciting, and 
the outcome gave a decided impetus to the separator 
movement, which has had so much to do with the advance 
in dairy methods in the state. 

The great need of the association was proper funds 



GRANITE STATE DAIRYMEN's ASSOCIATION. 45 

with which to carry on the work in an effective manner. 
At last, it was determined to make a strong effort to secure 
legislative aid, and a committee was appointed to labor to 
that end, whose work was done to such effect that by an 
act, approved August 14, 1889, the sum of tive hundred 
dollars, annually, was appropriated " for the use 
of the Granite State Dairymen's Association, to be 
expended by the executive committee thereof, under the 
direction of the association, for the purpose of promoting 
the usefulness of said association to those engaged in 
dairying in the state." 

The amount of this appropriation has been expended 
by the association in prizes for the best dairy products, for 
addresses by competent speakers from abroad on dairy 
subjects, and in printing the annual report of the pro- 
ceedings and meetings, for the benefit of all interested. 
The annual winter meetings, at which the competitive 
exhibits have also been made, have been held in connec- 
tion with the general winter meeting of the State Board 
of Agriculture, thus adding- to the interest and value of 
both. Different sections of the state are visited from 
year to year, thus increasing the value of the work b}^ 
diffusing as much as possible the advantages resulting 
from attendance upon the meetings. 

It was through the active instrumentality of this asso- 
ciation, whose agent for carrying out the work was W. D. 
Baker of Rumnev, that the splendid exhibition of New 
Hampshire dairy products was made at the World's fair 
in Chicago, which gave the state the prestige it has since 
held in the line of butter production, and which has been 
enhanced by the result of each of the several annual ex- 
hibits in connection with the winter meetings of the 
association, the last one, at Rochester, November 29 to 
December i, 1897, surpassing in general excellence any- 
thing of the kind heretofore witnessed in any state in the 



46 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

Union, wherein out of more tlian one hundred different 
entries of butter by individuals and creameries, not a 
single one scored below ninety, and the average w^as pro- 
nounced by competent authority the highest ever 
attained. 

This most gratifying improvement in the quality of 
New Hampshire dairy products, and the commanding 
position secured for the same in the markets, came 
through the adoption of the separator system, the general 
establishment of creameries, the study and practice of 
scientific methods in feeding, ventilation, and general care 
of dairy herds, increased attention to cleanliness, and 
other details to wdiich attention has been called in the 
addresses and discussions at the meetings of the associa- 
tion, supplemented and strengthened, of course, by the 
work of the Board of Agriculture, the Grange, and 
other organized agencies of general farm progress. 

The full board of officers of the association chosen at 
the last election is as follows : 

President — J. M. Connor, Hopkinton. 

Vice-Presidents — C. H. Waterhouse, Durham ; G. H. 
Wadleigh, Tilton. 

Secretary — J. L. Gerrish, Webster. 

Treasurer — N. J. Bachelder, Andover. 

Trustees. 
Rockingham county — Herman Noyes, Atkinson. 
Strafford county — A. B. Locke, Barrington. 
Belknap county — J. W. Sanders, Laconia. 
Carroll county — Blake Folsom, Wolfeborough. 
Merrimack county — George M. Putnam, Hopkinton. 
Hillsborough county — W. H. Ryder, Bedford. 
Cheshire county — Willard Bill, Jr., Westmoreland. 
Sullivan county — W. H. Sisson, Cornish Flat. 
Grafton county — W. D. Baker, Quincy. 
Coos county — Albert Corbett, Colebrook. 



THE NEW HAMPSHIRE HORTICULTURAL 
SOCIETY. 



Next to dairying, fruit culture is the agricultural indus- 
try which should most generally and extensively command 
the attention and interest of the farmers of New Hamp- 
shire, the soil and climate of the state, or a large portion 
thereof, being well adapted to the successful production 
of various kinds of fruits, especially the apple : yet there 
has been a decided feeling among the friends of agricul- 
tural progress in the state, for some years past, that far 
too little attention has been paid to this matter, although 
some individuals have accomplished substandal results in 
this line of effort. 

The great need here, as in connection with other 
branches of agriculture, is systematic work along educa- 
tional lines, which can only be carried out successfully 
through organized effort, with some substantial tinancial 
backing. What the Dairymen's Association has done for 
the dairy industry in this state might and should be 
accomplished for fruit culture through the instrumentality 
of some properly-organized society, working to that end, 
with similar or more substantial support from the state, 
through legislative action. 

In the fall of 1893— October 23— in the New Hamp- 
shire building on the Columbian Exposition grounds at 
Chicago, there was a meeting of New Hampshire men, 
called through the instigation of Christopher C. Shaw of 
Milford, who, at the earnest solicitation of the managers 
of the exposition, had been instrumental in furnishing the 
somewhat meagre exhibition of fruit from this state. 
The result of this meeting or conference was a determina- 
tion on the part of those present to organize a horticultural 
society in the state, and accordingly a call was issued by 



48 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

the secretary, Mr. W. D. Baker, for a meeting for that 
purpose in the city of Manchester on December 23, fol- 
lowing, in response to which call about fifty gentlemen 
from different parts of the state, engaged or interested in 
fruit culture to a greater or less extent, met and organized 
the New Hampshire Horticultural Societ}^ with the fol- 
lowing officers : 

President— C C. Shaw, Milford. 

Vice-President — John W. Farr, Littleton. 

Secretary — WiUiam D. Baker, Quincy. 

Treasurer — Thomas E. Hunt, Gilford. 

Directors — George F. Beede, Fremont ; James M. 
Hayes, Dover; J. N. Davis, Centre Barnstead ; E. M. 
Shaw, Nashua; Harvey Jewell, Winchester; Dr. Alonzo 
Towle, Freedom ; John T, Harvey, Pittsfield ; Thomas 
S. Pulsifer, Campton ; Charles McDaniel, West Spring- 
field; J. D. Howe, Lancaster. 

The first exhibition of this societv, held in Man- 
chester during the week of October 10, 1894, was 
eminently successful so far as the display of fruits and 
vegetables was concerned, but failed to attract the atten- 
tion and patronage essential to financial success. The 
legislature of 1895 made an appropriation of $300 per 
annum for two years, to aid the society in its work, and 
an exhibition was held in Concord in the autumn of that 
and the following year, resulting in a most creditable 
display, on each occasion, but as before, public interest 
and patronage was too little manifest. 

The society still maintains its organization, but as the 
last legislature failed to make any appropriation in its 
aid, its exhibition in 1897 was made in connection with 
that of the Grange State fair at Tilton. A permanent 
appropriation of $1,000 per annum should be made bv 
the legislature, to enable this society to do the work de- 
manded for the promotion of New Hampshire fruit 
culture. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES, 



HON. NAHUM J. BACHELDER, 

East Andover. 

When, in the spring of 1887, upon the death of James 
O. Adams, who had been secretary from its organization, 
the State Board of Agriculture looked about for the most 
efficient available man to fill the place thus made vacant, 
attention was directed to Nahum J. Bachelder, of East 
Andover. Mr. Bachelder had been secretary of the 
State Grange for several years, in which capacity he had 
manifested a high degree of executive ability, had formed 
a wide acquaintance among the farmers of the state, and 
had proved his devotion to the interests of agriculture. 
There was ample evidence of his thorough qualification 
tor the general duties of his office, and it was also felt by 
many that it would be advantageous to both organiza- 
tions, and the cause in whose interest they were estab- 
lished, to make the secretary of the State Grange also 
secretarv of the Board of Agriculture. There were 
many earnest advocates of such action, and the board 
took a similar view of the case. Mr. Bachelder was 
accordingly chosen, and has since holden the position. 
By his energy and devotion he has raised the standard 
of the board work, so that it now ranks with the best in 
the country. The number of institutes holden has been 
largely increased, and the speakers and subject matter 
4 




Hon. Nahum J. Bacheloer. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 5 1 

considered have been in keeping with the demands of the 
times. 

Mr. Bachelder is a native of Andover, born September 
3, 1854, on the old homestead on " Taunton Hill," in 
the east part of the town, now known as "Highland 
Farm." Here is a typical New England farm home, 
and the location, which is about a mile and a quarter 
from the railroad station at East Andover, is one of the 
most beautiful in Merrimack county, overlooking the 
silvery waters of Highland lake, and commanding de- 
lightful views in many directions, embracing some mag- 
nificent mountain scenery, in which Kearsarge, Ragged, 
Monadnock, and Ossipee mountains are prominent feat- 
ures. The farm was settled and cleared from the wilder- 
ness by Captain Josiah Bachelder, from the town of 
Hawke, now Danville, who located therein 1782, Nahum 
J. being his descendant in the fourth generation, the son 
of William A. and Adeline E. (Shaw) Bachelder. He 
was educated in the common schools, at Franklin Acad- 
emy, and at New Hampton Institution. 

After a short experience in teaching he applied him- 
self energetically to practical agriculture. He was for a 
time quite extensively engaged in market gardening. 
Subsequently he gave his attention to choice dairying 
with much success, supplying some of the leading hotels 
in the state with " gilt-edged" butter. 

Mr. Bachelder identified himself with the order. Patrons 
of Husbandry, early in its history in this state, having 
become a member of Highland Lake Grange, East Ando- 
ver, twenty years ago. He was four years master of 
this grange, and secretary of the state grange from 
December, 1883, until his election as master in 1891. 
As secretary he accomplished much for the progress of 
the order in the state, and under his administration as 
master its work has been carried forward with unprece- 




> 

o 

Q 
< 



< 



cq 



< 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 53 

dented success. He was the charter lecturer of Merri- 
mack County Pomona Grange, and secretary of the New 
Hampshire Grange State Fair Association from its organ- 
ization in 1886, with the exception of a single year, until 
January, 1896, when he declined a reelection, and to 
his systematic and indefatigable labors the remarkable 
success of the Association has been largely due. 

Among the members of the National Grange Mr. 
Bachelder holds high rank and his influence is strongly 
felt. He was chiefly instrumental in securing the ses- 
sion of that body in 1892 for this state, and tor New Eng- 
land again at Worcester in November, 1895, where his 
ability and influence were duly recognized by his selec- 
tion as a member of the executive committee of that great 
organization. 

As commissioner of immigration, to which oflice he 
was appointed by Governor Goodell, and whose duties 
have since been merged with those of secretary of the 
Board of Agriculture, he has done much to bring about 
the re-occupation of the abandoned farms of the state, 
and as a member of the State Cattle Commission, he 
has been active and alert in checking the inroads of 
disease. He has taken an active part as a speaker at 
the institute meetings of the Board, discussing dairying 
and other topics in an entertaining manner. His general 
addresses at grange field meetings and other large gath- 
erings have gained him a wide reputation as an eloquent 
and interesting speaker ; while his annual reports as sec- 
retary of the Board of Agriculture, his addresses as mas- 
ter of the state grange, and his frequent contributions to 
the press, upon agricultural and grange? topics, stamp him 
as a ready and forcible writer. 

Mr. Bachelder is a Republican in politics, but by no 
means a politician. He has never sought public office, 
and has held none, aside from that in connection with 



54 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

the Board of Agriculture, except that of superintending 
school committee for three years in the Democratic town 
of Andover. In 1891 the degree of Master of Arts 
was conferred upon him by Dartmouth College. 

June 30, 1887, he was united in marriage with Mary A. 
Putney, formerly of Dunbarton, daughter of Henry Put- 
ney, and a sister of Henrv M. Putney, chairman of the 
state Board of Railroad Commissioners. They have 
two children : Ruth and Henry Putney. Their home, 
as has been stated, is on the old homestead, now known 
as " Highland Farm," which originally contained some 
two hundred and fifty acres, but has been increased by 
recently purchased additions to nearly five hundred. The 
original frame house, built by Capt. Josiah Bachelder, 
a century ago, still constitutes a part of the mansion. 
Additions and improvements have been made from time 
to time, while a spacious barn 108x40 feet, with cellar 
under the whole, was erected a few years since. 



HON. JOSEPH B. WALKER, 

Concord. 

While fruit, poultry, and the dairy have come to be 
recognized as the leading specialties among New Hamp- 
shire farmers, hay production, pure and simple, has been 
taken up by some, who have a soil peculiarly adapted to 
grass, and are located near the cities and large villages, 
which afford a profitable market and ready means for 
restoring fertility. Some of the finest farms devoted to 
this line of production are found in the vicinity of Con- 
cord, one of the best of these being that of Hon. Joseph 
B. Walker, located at the head of Main street, whose 
broad acres lying mainly between the old Northern and 




Hon. Joseph B. Walker. 



56 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

Montreal railroad lines, command the admiring attention 
of travellers, entering or leaving the city at the north. 

This farm was hrst owned and occupied by the Rev. 
Timothy Walker, the noted " first minister" of Concord, 
great-grandfather of the present owner, and one of the 
original settlers of the place in 1730, who received a pro- 
prietor's share in the lands of the township. At his 
decease, in 1782, the farm descended to his son. Judge 
Timothy Walker, who conveyed it to his son, Capt. 
Joseph Walker, and at the latter's decease it descended 
to his son Joseph B., the present owner, then a lad often 
years, who did not take possession until 1852, it having 
been meanwhile leased to tenants, and finally coming into 
his hands, in a generally reduced condition. 

Possessed only of such limited practical knowledge of 
agriculture as he retained from the experience of his 
childhood, Mr. Walker realized, very soon after assum- 
ing the management of the farm, that much must be 
done to bring it into a satisfactorily productive condi- 
tion, and that he was ignorant of the proper manner in 
which to go to work to accomplish it. He commenced 
by adopting the programme of his neighbors, raising a 
little of everything and not much of any one thing. He 
soon found this plan unprofitable, and finally arrived at 
the conclusion that he must raise something which would 
insure a substantial financial return. Upon due consid- 
eration hay production was selected as the special line to 
be followed. 

To bring his farm into proper condition for successful 
operation and comfortable occupancy has required the 
cutting of some fifteen acres of willow and alder bushes, 
the drainage of thirt^y acres of bog land, the turning over 
of every acre of tillage land on the farm, the re-building 
of all the fences, and the modification and repair of 
nearly all the buildings ; all of which has been accom- 




a 



58 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

plished, while in the meantime Mr. Walker has secured 
a thorough, practical knowledge of his chosen branch of 
agriculture. He has raised his average annual hay pro- 
duct from sixty to one hundred and seventy-five tons, and 
has at the same time greatly improved its quality. He 
has entirely abandoned cattle husbandry, his entire stock 
consisting of three horses, a pair of oxen, and one cow, 
stable manure from the city being purchased to sustain 
the fertility, while the hay crop is sold at a good price in 
the local market. Under his plan of management all his 
tillage land, which includes something over one hundred 
acres, the balance of over two hundred being pasture and 
forest, is brought under the plow about once in five years, 
and an average crop of from a ton and a half to two tons 
of hay per acre is secured. 

No man in New Hampshire has manifested greater 
respect for the cause of agriculture than Mr. Walker, or 
done more to command for it the respect of others and to 
encourage young men in devoting themselves to its pur- 
suit. Coming of an educated and cultured ancestry : 
inheriting decided literary tastes ; early acquiring habits 
of study ; securing a first-class collegiate and prolessional 
education ; with the ability and position to command the 
greatest triumphs at the bar, in the field of literature or 
in public and political life, he, nevertheless, deliberately 
at the outset of his career, returned to his ancestral farm, 
and, by no means relinquishing his scholarly habits and 
tastes, has since devoted himself to the work of demon- 
strating, not only that agriculture in New Hampshire can 
be made to pay, financially, but that its pursuit is in no 
degree incompatible with the fullest measure of intellect- 
ual development, and the highest social position. 

Ever since the organization of the State Board of 
Agriculture in 1870, Mr. Walker has been one of the 
principal speakers at the meetings and institutes of that 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 59 

organization, discussing practical subjects, such as 
" Drainage," " Forestry," and " Hay Production," with 
which he has become familiar through his own experi- 
ence. Indeed, with a single exception, every one of the 
twenty-four volumes of reports issued by the secretary 
of the board contains one or more of his papers or 
addresses. 

Serving in the state legislature in 1866 and 1867 he 
was directly concerned in the legislation establishing and 
putting in operation the New Hampshire College of 
Agricukure and the Mechanic Arts ; was a member of 
its original board of trustees, favored the removal of the 
institution to Durham, and delivered the historical address 
at the laying of the corner stone of the main college build- 
ing. Of wide reading and extended travel, he has also 
spoken and written much upon historical and general 
subjects. Aside iVom the legislative service mentioned, 
Mr. Walker was a member of the constitutional conven- 
tion of 1889 and of the state senate in 1893-4. He was 
many years a member of the Concord school board and 
has been a trustee of the New Hampshire Asylum for the 
Insane and secretary of the board since 1847. In reli- 
gion he is a Congregationalist and in politics a Repub- 
lican. 

Mr. Walker was born June 12, 1822 ; fitted for college 
at Phillips Exeter Academy ; graduated from Yale in 
1844 ' studied law in Concord and at the Harvard law 
school : was admitted to the bar in 1847, and married Eliz- 
abeth Lord Upham, daughter of the late Hon. Nathaniel 
G.Upham, May i, 1850. Their children are, Charles Al- 
fred Walker, M. D., of Concord; Susan Burbeen, now 
Mrs. Charles M. Gilbert of Savannah, Ga. ; Nathaniel 
Upham, a lawyer in Boston; Mary Bell, who died at the 
age of ten years ; Eliza Lord, residing at home, and 
Joseph Timothy, of Savannah. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 6l 

JAMES M. CONNOR, 

HOPKINTON. 

Of no New Hampshire farmer can it be more truthfully 
said " He is the architect of his own fortune," than of 
James M. Connor of Hopkinton ; and none has been 
more successful in his work, when all the circumstances 
of the case are considered. Mr. Connor was born in 
Henniker, August 21, 1828. His father was James 
Connor, a farmer of limited means and poor health, who 
removed to Hopkinton when James M. was about five 
years old. The only education he received was derived 
from a few weeks' attendance upon the district school 
each year before he was fourteen years of age, after 
which time he was engaged in farm labor and carpenter- 
ing in this state and in New York, being engaged at the 
latter trade two or three years after attaining his 
majority. 

In 1852, he returned to Hopkinton, bought a fifty acre 
lot some two miles from the village, and commenced 
farming on his own account. He improved the land, 
got some buildings on it, paid oft^ his debt, and in about 
a dozen years sold it for $800, and bought a 100 acre 
farm one mile out on the Henniker road where he has 
ever since resided, running in debt for the larger part of 
the price — $2,400. Here the main work of his life has 
been done and well done. He has largely removed the 
rocks, underdrained the soil, more than doubled the 
productive capacity of his farm, paid his indebtedness, 
erected a fine set of new farm buildings, supplied him- 
self with all the conveniences of farm life, and laid by 
something for the rainy day which may come to all. 

For more than thirty years dairying has been Mr. 
Connor's specialty, and butter making the particular 
line in which he is engaged. Excellence in production 



62 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



was his object in the start, and attaining and maintaining 
this, by conscientious effort, through experimentation 
and the use of the best and most improved appliances, he 
has had no difficulty in securing and retaining a market 
for his product among the private families of Concord, 
for twenty-five or thirty of which he furnishes table butter 
from week to week, together with pork, lard, eggs, and 
other by-products. Some of these families have been 
his customers since he first commenced retailing his 
butter in the city. 

Mr. Connor keeps ten or twelve cows, and markets from 
2,500 to 3,000 pounds 
of butter per annum. 
His cows are largel}^ 
grade Guernseys, 
many of which are 
good for 300 pounds 
of butter each per an- 
num. He keeps swine 
as the natural accom- 
paniment of the dairy, 
and sells from a ton to 
a ton and a half of 
pork annually. He 
cuts forty tons of hay, 
or more, and raises a 
considerable amount of 
corn, both as a com- 
plete crop and for en- 
silage, having a silo of sixty tons capacity. His farm 
produces also a good amount of excellent fruit. He was 
awarded by the Chicago World's Fair management two 
medals and diplomas tor superior exhibits of butter and 
corn. 

Mr. Connor was activelv instrumental in the organiza- 




James M. Connor. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 63 

tion of the Granite State Dairymen's association, estab- 
lished in 1884, having long advocated the same in the 
public prints, has been its president from the start, and 
has devoted much thought and labor to the promotion of 
its work, which has given New Hampshire a place in the 
front rank of dairy states as regards the superiority of its 
butter product. In the order, Patrons of Husbandry, 
Mr. Connor has long been prominent. He was a charter 
member and secretary of Union grange, organized in 
May, 1875, has filled most of its offices including that of 
master for three terms, was the first master of the Merri- 
mack County council, and master of Merrimack County 
Pomona grange for 1896. He was for six years a member 
of the executive committee of the State grange, and has 
been chairman of other important committees of that body, 
notably those on taxation and the Agricultural college, 
taking deep interest in the work of the latter especially. 
For many years Mr. Connor has written to a considera- 
ble extent for the press upon practical agricultural 
subjects, and since his connection with the grange has 
become known as an earnest and effective speaker upon 
various subjects in which farmers are interested, and with 
which he is familiar, and he has been heard with interest 
and profit in agricultural gatherings in different sections. 
Mr. Connor has been twice married, first to Judith M., 
daughter of Ira A. Putney of Hopkinton, by whom he 
had four children, a son and three daughters, and, after 
her death, to Mrs. Catherine S. Watson {nee Hoyt) of 
Warner, a native of Newport, his present companion 
and helpmeet. Politically he is a Democrat, having 
served in town offices when his party was in power, and 
having been its candidate for state senator. He is a 
member of the Congregational church in Hopkinton, and 
was for several years superintendent of the Sunday 
school. 




James E. Shepard. 



pp:rsonal and farm sketches. 65 

JAMES E. SHEPARD, 

New London, 

One of the best-known citizens and most extensive 
farmers in central New Hampshire is James Eli Shepard 
of New London — a town, b}^ the way, which, although 
located back in the Kearsarge mountain region, away 
from railroad facilities, is favored with a strong soil, and 
is one of the best agricultural towns in the county. 
Here are many prosperous farmers, among whom Mr. 
Shepard holds lirst rank ; and here, too, is a most 
intelligent community, the influence of that well-known 
educational institution, Colby Academy, and the pres- 
ence of large numbers of city boarders in the summer 
season for many 3'ears past, attracted by the pure air 
and -beautiful scenery of this elevated region, contribut- 
ing in a large degree to raise the intellectual standard 
of the people. 

Mr. Shepard is a native of New London, born March 
13, 1842, and has always resided in that town. He 
was educated in the common schools and at tiie Colby 
Academy, and in 1863, at the age of twenty-one years, 
was united in marriage w^ith Miss Lucia Nelson, and 
engaged in farming in his native town, which has ever 
since been his occupation, although since 1870 he has 
also been extensively engaged in lumbering in his own 
and adjacent towns. 

His present home farm, known as the " Sheepfold," 
embraces about 250 acres of land, much of which is in 
an excellent state of cultivation. It is situated in the 
southeastern part of the town, about two miles trom 
New London village and a mile and a half from Scythe- 
ville, now Elkins, his post-office address. It is about 
five miles from Kearsarge mountain, which is directly to 
the east and is seen to excellent advantage, and six 
5 



66 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

miles from Sunapee lake. Aside from the home farm 
Mr. Shepard has about i,ooo acres of outlands, mostly 
pasturing and woodland, in New London and Wilmot. 
The farm produces from loo to 150 tons of hay annually. 
Six hundred bushels of oats were also produced in 1895, 
together with 100 bushels of rye, twelve acres of corn, 
and an acre of potatoes. Of the corn about 100 tons 
were cut into the silo. The stock consists of eighteen 
horses and about seventy head of cattle, of which forty 
are thoroughbred Jerseys, bred by the late Henry Ward 
Beecher, Samuel J. Tilden, and Stilson Hutchins, and 
purchased from the latter at his Governor's Island farm, 
in Lake Winnipiseogee, in the fall of 1893. Milk pro- 
duction is the leading feature of Mr. Shepard's farm 
operations, the milk suppl}^ for Colby Academy being 
furnished by him, and the balance of his product being 
sold to Hood, and delivered at the Potter Place station. 

He became a member of the order of Patrons of Hus- 
bandry in 1882, joining Kearsarge Grange at Wilmot 
Flat, before New London Grange was organized. Sub- 
sequently he was instrumental in the organization of the 
latter, was its first master, and was twice re-elected to 
that position. He was also for two years president of 
the Merrimack County Council, and was the first master 
of Merrimack County Pomona Grange, No. 3, organized 
at Contoocook in the spring of 1886, holding this posi- 
tion also for two years, and devoting much time and 
effort to the success of the organization, which ranks 
among the first in the state. He was one of the most 
active promoters of the New Hampshire Grange Fair 
association, was its second president and held the office 
for three successive years. He was also for four years 
assistant steward of the State Grange, four years over- 
seer, and is now a member of the executive committee 
of that organization. Few men have done more than 



68 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

he to advance the interests of the Grange in New Hamp- 
shire, and no one who has not filled the Master's chair 
is more widely or deservedly popular. 

Politically Mr. Shepard is a Democrat, and, Hving in 
a strong Republican town, has not held public position, 
as might otherwise have been the case. He was, how- 
ever, elected as the delegate from New London to the 
last constitutional convention, being the first Democrat in 
town chosen to any important office in a period of forty 
years. He has been prominent in his own party affairs 
for many years, and was the Democratic candidate for 
state senator in his district in 1890. In religion he is a 
Baptist, and a member of the church of that denomina- 
tion in New London. He is also a strong friend of 
Colby Academ3s and has been for several years past a 
member of its board of trustees; and when, after the 
disastrous fire which destroyed the fine academy building 
a few years since, there was danger of the discontinuance 
of the school, or its removal to some other location, Mr. 
Shepard was a leading spirit in the movement by which 
funds were raised to insure the continuance of the insti- 
tution in New London. 

Mr. and Mrs. Shepard have six children — three sons 
and three daughters. The eldest son, Charles E., mar- 
ried Maude Hersey. They have three children, and live 
on New London hill. He is proprietor of the stage line 
between New London and Potter Place, and is exten- 
sively engaged in the livery business, having a stable in 
New London and another at Potter Place, also two 
farms. The eldest daughter, Lucy Nelson, a graduate 
of the Emerson School of Oratory at Boston, is the wife 
of Wilfred Burpee, of Brown & Burpee, opticians, of 
Manchester, where she resides. Frank S., the second 
son, married Stella Hersey and has located on a farm in 
Sutton, believing that by perseverance and economy 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 69 

agriculture may be made to pay, even in a New Hamp- 
shire hill town. The second daughter, Mary E., is a 
student at Smith College, Northampton, Mass., class of 
'97. Mark N., and Emih' T., the youngest children, 
are at home, students at Colby Academy. 

A pleasant home life and a generous hospitalit}^ make 
" Sheepfold " an attractive resort (or a large circle of 
friends and acquaintances, who are ever cordially wel- 
comed. 



JAMES L. GERRISH, 

Webster. 

James L. Gerrish, who has written instructively for 
the agricultural department of the People and Patriot 
over the noin-de-plujne of" Will Tell," for manv years 
in the recent past, was born in the town of Webster, 
May II, 1838, on the 400-acre homestead, upon which 
he still resides with his brother, Dea. H. H. Gerrish, 
and which was originally settled by his grandfather, 
Moses Gerrish, who went from Boscawen directly into 
the forest, over one hundred years ago. The location 
proved a pleasant one, commanding an attractive land- 
scape and fine mountain view. 

His great-grandfather. Colonel Henry Gerrish of 
Boscawen, marched to Medford, Mass., as captain of 
minute men after the Battle of Lexington, was lieutenant- 
colonel in Stickney's regiment in the Bennington cam- 
paign, and was present at the surrender of Burgoyne. 
Through him the family genealogy is traced back eight 
generations to Captain William Gerrish, who came from 
Bristol, England, to Newbury, Mass., in 1639. Dea. 
Jeremiah Gerrish, father of James L., died in 1843, in 
the midst of a useful life. His mother, who was Jane 






■^>»-% 



im- 



iSi. t \ 




James L. Gerrish. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 7I 

Little, daughter of Dea. Enoch Little, Sr., of Webster, 
lived until 1877. She had the pluck and energy to 
raise and educate five children from the farm, the subject 
of this sketch being five years old at his father's 
death, and the youngest of the family. He has 
lived on the homestead all his life, except when absent 
at school and during one year's service in the army 
during the late war, when he served as a member of 
Company E, Sixteenth Regiment, New Hampshire 
Volunteers, having been promoted and mustered out with 
the regiment in August, 1863. His education, aside 
from that gained in the district and private schools of the 
town, was gained in the academies at Hopkinton, Reeds 
Ferry, and Boscawen. 

Mr. Gerrish has spent much time and considerable 
money in experimenting in the breeding of sheep, of 
Channel Island cattle, in the application of fertilizers, 
and in forestry. He built up a good dairy herd before 
the Granite State Dairymen's Association was formed, 
has been secretary of that organization for the last eight 
years, and was largely instrumental in securing a state 
appropriation in aid of its work. He is an officer in the 
Guernsey Dairy Company at Contoocook, and has also 
secured the evidence necessary to found a state herd- 
book for the Guernsey breed. He established a middle 
treed of sheep, between the wool and mutton breeds, and 
has often addressed farmers' institutes, with the board of 
agriculture, under the direction of both the present and 
former secretary, upon this and other subjects. His 
forestry experiments have covered a long series of years, 
and he has now an experimental acre of pines, which the 
state, through the secretary of the Forestry Commission, 
has sought to secure. He commenced early in life to 
condense his farming and make it intensive and produc- 
tive. He made and is still making double cropping a 



72 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

hobby, raising two or three fodder crops on the same 
land each season, to the extent of available fertilizers. 

Mr. Gerrish is a Republican in politics, and has been 
honored by his townsmen with the various offices in their 
gift, serving as selectman in 1875-77, and representing 
the town in the legislature in 1883, when he was made 
chairman of the Agricultural College committee. 

He is a member of the Congregational church, deeply 
interested in the welfare of the church and Sunday- 
school in town. He has been a Patron of Husbandry 
several years, and has served as Lecturer in his home 
grange — Daniel Webster, No. 100, — and in the Merri- 
mack County Pomona Grange. 

Mr. Gerrish has been twice married — to Sarah B. 
Chandler of Penacook, December 22, 1864, by whom 
he had three children, two now living, Edwin C, a 
graduate of the New Hampshire Agricultural College, 
now employed in the office of a large corporation in. 
Lowell; and Mabel A., in school at Brookline, Mass. 
His first wife died a few years since, and January 9, 
1894, he married Mrs. Mary S. Kenevel of Fort Scott,. 
Kansas. 



BELA GRAVES, 
East Unity. 

Eighty-seven years ago John Graves, a young man of 
courage and character, settled near the south-eastern 
corner of the town of Unity upon a farm, the larger por- 
tion of which was covered with heavy hemlock forest. 
Here he established a home, reclaimed the land, and 
reared a large family. He was twice married, his first 
wife being Rhoda Gilman ; his second, Phebe Way, the 
latter a daughter of John Way, an influential citizen of 



^ ^^ 



\ 



h^ 




Bela Graves. 



74 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

Lempster. He lived to see smooth and productive fields 
where he had cut and burned the forest, and of his 
twelve children, six reached adult life, the youngest by 
the second marriage being the subject of this sketch. 

Bela Graves was born June 23, 1836, in the house 
where he now resides, was educated in the district 
school at East Unity, with a few terms of academic 
instruction, the last two being at the Newbury (Ver- 
mont) seminary. Commencing at eighteen he taught 
district school winters, lor twelve years, the balance of 
his time being devoted to farm work. He has been 
twice married, first, October 15, 1862, to Emma M., 
and, after her death, November 5, 1873, to Eliza M., 
daughters of Reuben Shepardson, of Claremont. He 
has five children living: Stella M., wife of E. L. 
Houghton, of Walpole ; John F. Graves, of Newport; 
Grace E., a pupil in the Newport high school, and 
Richard C. and Helen L., the " little folks at home." 

Mr. Graves has held many of the offices in town, and 
is at the present time a trustee of the school fund and a 
member of the school board, having been elected for the 
third time last spring. He has been the candidate of 
his party (Democratic) for county commissioner and 
other important offices. While devoted to the principles 
of his party, he has not been a politician in the ordi- 
nary sense, will not stoop to the use of modern political 
methods, and never held an office which he worked to 
secure. When the new school law went into effect, he 
labored to adapt his town to the new order of things, 
and succeeded, the number of schools being reduced 
from eleven to seven, and their efficiency materially 
increased. His efforts in this direction made him 
unpopular with a certain class, as quite a sum of money 
was required for new schoolhouses and repairs ; but he 
has the satisfaction of knowing that his town has a finer 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 75 

lot of school-rooms than can be found in any other rural 
town in the count}'. 

As a farmer, Mr. Graves is engaged in making milk 
for the Boston market. He has seventeen cows, but 
expects to be able to increase the number soon, as his 
farm is yearly becoming more productive. His crops 
are twice as great as they were ten years ago, and the 
limit is by no means reached. Nine years ago he built 
a new barn, acknowledged to be the best in town, which 
has a capacity of twenty-five cows in stable room and 
feed storage. He has about 250 acres of land, of which 
some thirty-five or forty are in mowing and tillage, and 
the balance wood and pasture. 

Mr. Graves has strong faith in the future of New 
Hampshire agriculture, provided it be conducted upon 
well-chosen lines. He believes there is a great field 
here in fruit culture and poultry, for men of enterprise 
adapted to the business, and that the dairy can be made 
profitable in all sections where forage can be cheaply 
produced. He holds that hay should be a specialty on 
many more farms than at present, and that a little more 
brain and a little more muscle would work wonders in 
many cases. He was made a member of the state board 
of agriculture for Sullivan county in 1893, and has 
given earnest attention to his duties in that capacity. 



PROF. WM. H. CALDWELL, 

Peterborough. 

A prominent position in the ranks of the educated and 
progressive dairymen of New Hampshire is occupied by 
Wm. H. Caldwell of Peterborough, secretary of the 
American Guernsey Cattle Club. Secretary Caldwell is 
a native of the town where he now resides, born April 



PERSONAI. AND FARM SKETCHES. 77 

i6, 1866. He is the son of Samuel Hutson and Eunice 
(Buss) Caldwell, both parents dying before he was 
nineteen months old, leaving him to the care of a maiden 
aunt. 

His preparatory education was received at the famous 
Allen Bros.' school, at West Newton, Mass. He en- 
tered the Massachusetts Agricultural College in the fall 
of 1883, graduating with high honors four years later, 
having been a leader in the class-room throughout his 
course, and being awarded the first Grinnell agricultural 
prize, under Major H. E. Alvord, then professor of 
agriculture. 

From July, 1887, to April, 1888, he was assistant in 
field and feeding experiments, under Dr. Goesmann, at 
the Massachusetts state experiment station. In April, 

1888, he assumed the position of instructor in agriculture 
at the Pennsylvania state college ; also assistant agri- 
culturist in the experiment station. In August, 1893, he 
was promoted to be assistant professor of agriculture, 
and assistant agriculturist. During the great World's 
Fair dair}^ tests he secured a leave of absence from the 
college, to act as superintendent of the Guernsey herd, 
and to represent the American Guernsey Cattle Club. 
In May, 1894, he resigned his position in Pennsylvania, 
having been elected secretary and treasurer of the 
Guernsey Cattle Club, and removed to "Clover Ridge 
Farm,"' in his native town, which he had purchased in 

1889, and began breeding Guernseys on his own account. 
This farm is delightfully located, about three fourths of 

a mile from the railroad station, and commanding a 
magnificent mountain view. It embraces 139 acres of 
natural grass land,twent3^ being in timber of fine quality, 
sixty in pasture, abundantly watered with fine springs, 
thirty in natural meadow well drained, and the balance 
in tillable upland. The orchard consists of over 100 



78 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



trees, a third of which have recently been set. The herd 
consists of butter bred cows, full blood and grade 
Guernseys. Mr. Caldwell says, "It is the dairy cow I 
am after, and I firmly believe in the advantages the 
Guernsey has, particularly in crossing with good butter 
cows." 

The herd of Guernseys has been selected for large pro- 
duction of rich milk. It 
was established by the 
selection of represent- 
atives of the choicest 
strains, and from the 
leading herds in the 
country. At the head 
of the herd has always 
been kept as fine a 
Guernsey as could be 
found in the country 
or imported from the 
Island. The herd shows 
the most remarkable 
characteristics of the 
Guernsey — the rich yel- 
low skin which is so im- 
portant in the dair}^ distinguishing the Guernsey above 
all breeds. They show the quiet and gentle temperament 
which is also characteristic of the breed. Careful records 
of the milk and butter-fat tests of each animal are kept. 
The milk and cream from the herd are sold at retail 
in the village, morning's milk being sold to the regular 
customers, and delivered in glass jars or in individual 
cans, as desired. The cream is taken from the evening's 
milk by means of the DeLaval separator. This is 
cooled and delivered the following morning to regular 
customers, or upon special order. The skim milk is 




William H. Caldwell. 



PERSONAL AND I-'ARM SKETCHES. 7^ 

used for raising the calves. The herd is at all times 
under the inspection of a veterinarian. The animals 
are not heavily fed for large records, but every means is 
taken to secure the health, cleanliness, and comfort of the 
animals. 

One cow, which was a member of the World's Fair 
dairy test, made four hundred pounds of butter during 
a year. Each cow stands in a stall by herself, untied. 
The stalls are known as the Bidwell stall, and allow the 
animals great freedom and comfort. Thev are not wide 
enough for the animal to turn around in, yet give them 
plenty of room, and no danger of crowding or stepping 
on one another. 

Not alone is the farm of interest from its Guernsey 
herd, but the office of the American Guernsey Cattle 
Club is located in one portion of the residence, where 
two clerks are busy handling the heav}^ mail and other 
work of the club. Here are found sketches and other 
data on file, regarding all Guernseys in this country, 
and from the office are issued many publications of 
interest to Guernsey workers, including the quarterly 
magazine known as the Herd Register and Breeders' 
Journal, of which Mr. Caldwell, as secretary of the 
club, has editorial charse. 

There is to be found on the farm a good herd of the 
Large Improved English Yorkshire hogs, some of 
which were imported from Canada, and all trace to the 
best herds in England. Plymouth Rocks are the only 
fowl kept. In one house are found pens of White 
Plymouth Rocks, and in the other those of the Barred 
Plymouth Rock. These pens have been carefully 
mated, and present a very fine appearance. 

Since his permanent location in his native state he has 
come much in contact with our agricultural leaders, and 
is frequently heard, upon dairy and kindred topics, at 



8o 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



farmers' institutes and other gatherings, while he is often 
called abroad to participate in institute work. He is an 
active and interested member of the Grange, having 
been connected with the order since 1885. He had 
oversight of the Grange headquarters at the Bay State 
fair in Boston, in 1886. 

Professor Caldwell has also written extensively for the 
agricultural press, and the results of his experimental 




Clover Ridge Farm. 



work have been reported in the bulletins of the Massa- 
chusetts and Pennsylvania experiment stations. He is 
a Mason and a member of the Golden Cross. 

December 25, 1888, he married Miss Jessie A. Rice, 
of North Hadley, Mass. The home is blessed by one 
son, born in 1893. His wife sympathizes with his tastes 
and is his efficient aid and co-laborer in office and edito- 
rial work. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. OI 

JOHN C. MORRISON, 

BOSCAWEN. 

Few men in Merrimack county are more widely or 
favorably known in agricultural circles, or by the gen- 
eral public, than John C. Morrison, of Boscawen. Mr. 
Morrison is a native of the town in which he resides, 
born July i8, 1837. His educational advantages were 
such as the district school afforded. Possessing an 
ambition to strike out for himself, at the age of nineteen 
he bought his time of his father, who was a farmer and 
lumberman, for $300, and engaged, in company with 
Joseph Eastman, of West Concord, in bu}ing and clear- 
ing wood and timber lots in various towns of the county, 
continuing for a number of years. In later years he has 
been engaged with Davis & Sargent, of Lowell, in the 
lumber line, buying lots and clearing the same, the logs 
going down the Merrimack in the annual spring drive. 
Through his experience in this direction he has acquired 
a high reputation as a judge of the value of wood and 
timber lots, his accuracy in estimates being unsurpassed. 
To this fact was due, largely, his selection by the gov- 
ernor and council, in 1893, as a commissioner for the 
appraisement of unincorporated and other lands for taxa- 
ble purposes — a selection amply justified by faithful and 
conscientious discharge of duty. 

The farm upon which Mr. Morrison resides, which is 
finely located upon the Merrimack river, was purchased 
by him, in company with an uncle, Joseph Wilson of 
Lowell, in 1870, the price being $10,500. It included 
250 acres of land, easy of cultivation, and natural corn 
land. He has raised over 1,600 bushels of corn in a 
single season. He has two silos, of 180 tons capacity. 
His farming is of the mixed order ; though in company 
with a brother he has engaged quite extensively and 
6 




John C. Morrison. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 8^ 

successfully in horse-breeding, which is still contin- 
ued. 

In the order of Patrons of Husbandry Mr. Morrison 
has taken strong interest, and has been active in promot- 
ing its growth and prosperity. He has been three years 
master of Ezekiel Webster Grange, of Boscavven, and 
two years master of Merrimack County Pomona 
Grange. He was also for six years a district deputy 
for the State Grange. He has been actively interested 
from the start in the New Hampshire Grange Fair 
Association, of which he has been vice-president and 
also for several years a member of its executive com- 
mittee, and chairman of the same, and superintendent 
of the horse department at the annual exhibitions of 
the association, and has now been two years president. 

In religion, Mr. Morrison is of the Baptist faith, and 
in politics he has been active as a Republican, having 
been for six years president of the town club. He has 
served for three years on the board of selectmen in 
Boscawen, and represented the town in the legislature 
of 1893, serving upon the committees on agriculture, 
and towns. He was also president of the council of 
agriculture, an organization composed of the farmers in 
the legislature, whose purpose it was to look carefully 
after the agricultural interests of the state in legislative 
matters. He is a member of the Masonic, Odd Fellows', 
Good Templars', and Red Men's organizations, and is a 
past grand of Contoocook Lodge No. 26, I. O. O. F., 
of Penacook, and a past chief templar. 

February 3, 1866, Mr. Morrison was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Clara D. Simpson, by whom he has 
two daughters living — Mary Simpson, and Lena Mabel. 
The home life of the family is exceptionally pleasant, 
and the hospitality of the Morrison place is enjoyed by 
a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 85 

Though still making his home upon the Boscawen 
farm, and looking carefully after its management, Mr. 
Morrison has, recently, established a real estate agency 
in the thriving young city of Franklin, and, with his char- 
acteristic push and energy, is doing a prosperous business 
in that line. 



HERBERT O. HADLEY, 

Temple. 

Probably one of the best known agriculturists among the 
young men in southern New Hampshire is Mr. Herbert 
O. Hadley, of Temple. Mr. Hadley was born in Peter- 
borough, November 20, 1855, being the son of Harvey C. 
and Henrietta D. Hadley, the former being a farmer of 
moderate means and also a carpenter by trade. His 
parents removed to Sharon when he was quite young, 
where they resided until he was ten years of age, when 
they located in Temple, in which town he has lived ever 
since. The mother died a few years since, and the 
father still makes his home there when not at work at 
his trade, or visiting his elder son, Dr. C. H. Hadley, 
of Brooklyn, N. Y. Mr. Hadley has one sister. Miss 
Helen M. Hadley, who has been a teacher in the public 
schools as well as a teacher of music and painting, and 
she makes her home with him. 

He was married January 12, 1879, to Nettie C, daughter 
of James E. Burton, a prominent farmer and lumber dealer 
of the same town. As the fruit of this union they have 
one daughter, Florence E., now nearly fourteen years of 
age. 

Mr. Hadley has served his town in nearly every posi- 
tion of trust within the gift of the people. He was 
elected one of the selectmen three years in succession, 
receiving every vote cast at each election, and has been 



86 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



for a number of years, and still is, moderator for both 
town and school meeting. He was elected a representa- 
tive to the general court at the November elecdon in 
1894, although his party was far in the minority, and 
was a prominent member of that body, as well as secre- 
tary of the house committee on agriculture. His voice 
was often heard on the floor of the house, and in the 
committee rooms, in favor of any measure which he 

believed to be for the 
benefit of the farmer. 
At the close of the ses- 
sion he was invited to 
the room of the com- 
mittee, and was taken 
completely by surprise 
when one of the mem- 
bers, Mr. George E. 
Butler, of Haverhill, 
in a very pleasant 
speech, presented him 
with a beautiful gold- 
headed cane, properly 
engraved, as a token 
of the esteem in which 
he was held by his 
fellow-members of the committee. 

Mr. Hadley has been for more than twenty years an 
active member of Miller Grange, No. 34, of Temple. 
He was master three years, and lecturer for a like 
period. He was also a district deputy of the State 
Grange three years. In December, 1895, he was chosen 
master of Hillsborough County Pomona Grange, and 
was also elected assistant steward of the State Grange. 
He is a member of the Dunster Hill Lodge, I. O. O. F., 
of Greenville. 




Herbert O. Hadlev. 



OO NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

He has, in connection with his farm work, carried on 
a wholesale and retail meat business for the last sixteen 
years, and is a very successful auctioneer, being a grand 
nephew of the late T. K. Ames, of Peterborough, who 
for fifty years was the leading auctioneer of the state. 
He is a member and strong supporter of the Congrega- 
tional church, and in politics always a Democrat. His 
specialty in farming is raising milk for the Boston market, 
and he usually keeps thirty or more cows. He was one 
of the originators of the Temple & Greenville Telephone 
Co., and is secretary and treasurer of the same, having 
an office in his residence. 



JAMES M. HAYES, 
Dover. 

James M. Hayes, of Dover, was born at Sandwich, 
August 3, 1845. He is a direct descendant of Dea. John 
Hayes, of Dover, the first settler by that name, both on 
his father's and mother's side, she being Elizabeth, the 
daughter of Capt. John W. Hayes, of Barrington. Mr. 
Hayes's parents settled in Sandwich in 1837, and resided 
there until 1864, when they removed to Dover and pur- 
chased the farm where he now resides. He was edu- 
cated at the public schools and Beede's High School, 
Sandwich, and at Franklin Academy, Dover, and Bry- 
ant & Stratton's Commercial College, Providence, R. I. 
For about twelve years he taught in the public schools 
of Dover and Rochester winters, devoting his summers 
to his farm. 

He was married to Miss Martha T. Jenness, March 24, 
1869, who lived but fifteen months after their marriage, 
leaving one son, Jasper J., who resides on the farm with 
his father. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



89 



Mr. Hayes has always taken much interest in agri- 
cultural and horticultural pursuits. He was a charter 
member of Cocheco Grange, was its first secretary, 
afterwards serving as lecturer and master of the same 
Grange. He was also secretary, lecturer, and master 
of Eastern New Hampshire Pomona Grange, and at the 
present time is serving his second term as member of 
the State Board of Agriculture for Strafford County. 
For a number of years he served as chairman of the 
General Fruit Com- 
mittee of the Ameri- 
can Pomological Soci- 
ety and is at present a 
director, and chairman 
of the Committee on 
Nomenclature of the 
New Hampshire Hor- 
ticultural Society. He 
has been a frequent 
contributor to the agri- 
cultural press, and now 
conducts the Farm and 
Grange department of 
the Dover Enquirer. 
In politics Mr. Hayes 
is an active Republi- 
can. He has frequent- 
ly been honored officially by his fellow-citizens, having 
served as ward clerk, selectman, moderator, school 
committee, and representative, and is at present asses- 
sor-at-large and clerk of the Board of Assessors of the 
city of Dover. For many years Mr. Hayes has been 
connected with the fairs at Rochester and Tilton, in 
the secretary's office, and has acted as judge either in 
the fruit or vegetable department almost yearly. 




James M. Hayes. 



90 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

Mr. Hayes makes a specialty of market gardening 
and small fruits, and does quite a business raising vege- 
table plants under glass for the market. Of small fruits 
he raises mostly strawberries, selling plants quite largely 
in his vicinity. He believes that if farmers around our 
large towns would do more of such work, instead of 
devoting their time to the regular field crops, there would 
be less complaint from them of hard times. 



JOSEPH DREW HOWE, 

Lancaster. 

On one of the hills that adds so much to the beauty of 
Lancaster, are some of the best cultivated farms in the 
town, and on one of these farms resides Joseph D. Howe, 
Esq., highly esteemed for his intelligence, integrity, and 
devotion to the best interests of his native town. His 
farm is known as "Maple Hill farm," and there he was 
born September 17, 184I0 Some of his ancestors were 
extensive land owners in Marlborough, Mass., and from 
that town his grandfather, Daniel Howe, came to this 
section of the country about 1780, and subsequently mar- 
ried Eunice, daughter of Gen. Edwards Bucknam, she 
being the first white child born in Lancaster. Mr. 
Howe's father, Joseph Howe, married Mahala Wood- 
bury, daughter of Jonathan Woodbury, of Concord, V't., 
and settled on the farm above spoken of. 

Mr. Howe was the youngest of a family of eight chil- 
dren. His parents were most excellent people, consci- 
entious in their discharge of duty, and they gave their 
children such educational advantages as their means 
and the times afforded. His studies were pursued in the 
district schools, at Lancaster Academy, and at New- 
bury, Vt. He taught several terms of school in winter 
with marked success, and he might have become an 




Joseph Drew Howe. 



92 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

educator had he devoted his talents to that pursuit. 
With the exception of two or three years passed in the 
West, raih'oading and as a private salesman, his life 
work has been on his farm, which embraces something 
more than 150 acres, and on which is a sugar orchard 
of 1,400 trees, the product being mostly syrup of the 
finest quality, and an apple orchard which, if not the 
very best, is unexcelled in Coos county. He has a fine 
herd of cows of three distinct breeds, all of high grade, 
and with which he has experimented, weighing the milk 
of each cow daily, and testing it thoroughly twice a 
month, and keeping a record that will be useful, as 
approximating to the real value of each breed for dairy 
purposes, under the conditions of food and climate here 
imposed. 

Mr. Howe has served two years as a selectman of the 
town, being chairman of the board in 1893, and at the 
last town meeting was chosen for another year. He was 
elected to the legislature of the state in November, 1890, 
receiving a large majority of votes over all other candi- 
dates, and his service in the legislature was acceptable 
to his constituents. He was appointed by Governor 
Smith a member of the State Board of Agriculture, in 
August, 1893, and is still serving with credit in that 
capacity. He was also elected a member of the board 
of directors of the State Horticultural Society from Coos 
when the society was organized in 1893. But in none 
of the positions which he has occupied does Mr. Howe 
feel a more just pride than in his work as a member of 
the school board of the town, on which he has served 
six years, four years as chairman of the board, with 
great credit. He is a member of North Star Lodge, 
Chapter, and Commandery, F. A. M., to which order 
he is sincerely attached, and has taken the Scottish rite 
degrees to the 32d. In politics he is a Democrat, and 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 93 

liberal in his religious views. His honesty and business 
capacity are such that he settles a good many estates of 
those deceased, and in all the relations of Hfe he endeav- 
ors to do his duty faithfully and well, and is theretbre 
trusted and honored bv his townsmen. He has been a 
member of Lancaster Grange, P. of H., for the last six- 
years, and aided in the Ibrmation of the new Mount 
Prospect Grange, in that town. 

He was united in marriage in 1863, with Miss Mary J. 
Tucker, of Saranac, N. Y., a woman every way worthy 
of him, and their domestic relations were happy until her 
death, April 8, 1894, leaving two sons, Carl Tucker and 
Joseph Bert, who remain with Mr. Howe upon the farm. 



WILLIAM H. PERRY, 

Newport. 

William H. Perry, son of Daniel and Fanny (Fiske) 
Perry, is one of the successful and prosperous farmers 
of the fine agricultural town of Newport. He was born 
October 12, 1840, on the farm where he now resides, 
and was educated in the district school and the acade- 
mies at Newport and Claremont. He served in Co. K, 
Ninth N. H. V., in the late war, and was wounded in 
battle. Returning, he settled on the old homestead, now 
known as " Maple Wood farm," on the " Green Mount- 
ain" road, about midway between the villages of New- 
port and Claremont, where he has since devoted himself 
industriously to agriculture. The farm is an original 
lOO-acre lot, of which about forty acres is in timber. 
For the first fifteen years Mr. Perry was engaged 
largely in the rearing and breaking of steers, for which 
there was a ready market at remunerative prices. 

During the last fifteen years dairying has been his 
specialty, with hogs as an accompaniment. He has a 




o 

H 
CO 

Q 
oi 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 95 

tine fruit orchard, also raises corn quite extensively, 
which he regards as a good paying crop. He keeps a 
dozen cows and sells all his butter to one firm in New- 
port, and sells, also, from a ton to a ton and a half of 
pork per annum. A large maple sugar product is mar- 
keted, mostly at the West. He believes in farm machin- 
ery, keeps abreast with the times, and has an eye out 
for all improvements ; but takes little stock in commer- 
cial fertilizers, preferring to produce his own. He has 
a fine set of buildings, and his land is in an excellent 
state of cultivation, producing annually 40 tons of hay, 
500 bushels of corn, and other crops. He received a 
diploma and medal for corn and beans exhibited at the 
World's Fair in Chicago. Mr. Perry has been promi- 
nent in town affairs, serving as selectman, school com- 
mittee, and representative. He is also conspicuous in 
Masonic and G. A. R. circles, and was a representative 
of the latter at the National Encampment at St. Paul, in 
September, 1896. He attributes his success as a farmer 
to " stick-to-ativeness," and deprecates the vacillating 
policy so generally followed. 



RIVERSIDE STOCK FARM— NEWPORT. 
H. M. Kimball, Manager. 

The cut on the opposite page, presents a view of the 
buildings upon one of the best known stock farms in the 
state — the " Riverside " iarm at Newport, located in the 
beautiful valley of the Sugar river, about one mile east 
of the charming village of Newport, which is one of the 
most beautiful places in the state, and situated in a fine 
agricultural region. 

This farm embraces about 650 acres of land, and is 
admirably adapted for the use to which it has been put — 
the breeding and rearing of gentlemen's first-class driv- 



96 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

ing and road horses, of which there are about sixty now 
on hand, including fine specimens of the Wilkes, Elec- 
tioneer, and Lambert strains. 

The proprietor is E. D. Kimball of Watertown, Mass., 
a wealthy business man, while the management is in 
the hands of his brother, H. M. Kimball, who resides 
on the farm. There is a good half-mile track on the 
place, where the horses have been trained in the past to 
a greater or less extent. Of late, however, no training is 
being done at home ; but several good animals from the 
farm have been handled by professional trainers at Mystic. 

A good many prize animals have been sent out from 
this farm, and in 1893, it will be remembered, a large 
string of premiums was captured by its superior exhibit 
at the Grange State fair at Tilton. 

While it is undoubtedly true that there will never be a 
time in the future when there will be so great a demand 
for ordinary horses as has been the case in the past, the 
time will never come when there will not be a fair 
demand for well-bred, reliable driving horses, combining 
the qualities of kindly disposition, endurance, and spirit, 
such as are raised upon this farm. 



WILLIAM P. BALLARD, 

Concord. 

A representative New England farm home, wherein 
comfort and content abide, is that of William P. Ballard, 
on the " Long Pond " road, about two and one half miles 
north-west of the state house in Concord. The farm 
embraces about two hundred acres ot land, fifty being 
mowing and tillage and the balance pasture and wood- 
land. It was originally settled by Nathan Ballard, in 
1792, when his son Nathan, into whose hands it subse- 
quently passed, was seventeen years old. John Ballard, 




p-> 



98 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



son of the latter, and the youngest of thirteen children 
born on the farm, succeeded in its proprietorship, and 
has passed an industrious and honorable life in its man- 
agement and in performing well the manifold duties of 
good citizenship : and now, at the age of seventy-eight 
years, with his estimable wife, Hannah D., daughter of 
the late Reuben Abbott, of Concord, enjoys a respite 
from active labor. 

William P. Ballard is an only son, but has two sisters 

living. He was born 
on the old farm, Sept. 
i8, 1848. He attended 
the New Hampshire 
College of Agricult- 
ure and the Mechanic 
Arts at Hanover, from 
which he graduated in 
187 1, in the first class 
ever graduating from 
that institution. On 
December 2, 1875, '""^ 
married Mary E. Bart- 
lett, of Merrimack, a 
successful teacher, by 
whom he has three 
children living, a son 
and two daughters. 
Another son was born to them, but died in infancy. 

Mr. Ballard was a charter member and the first secre- 
tary of Capital Grange, No. 113, of Concord, organized 
in January, 1886; was master of the same in 1889, and 
has been one of the most faithful and devoted members 
from the start, serving two years as chaplain and at pres- 
ent as treasurer. He has also been an active member 
of Merrimack County Pomona Grange from its organ- 




WlLLIAM F. IJALLARIJ. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 99 

ization, holding the office of steward in 1890 and 1891, 
overseer in 1892 and 1893, and master in 1894 and 1895, 
and rarely being absent from his post at any meeting. 
He was also for two years chairman of the State Grange 
Committee on the Agricultural College and Experiment 
Station. He takes a lively interest in educational mat- 
ters, and served three years as a member of the school 
board in what is known as the "town district." In relig- 
ion he is a Congregationalist, being a member and 
deacon of the North church in Concord. He was a 
member of the board of assessors from ward 9 in 1894, 
but has held no other public office, and has sought 
none. 

For the past twenty years, since assuming the active 
management of the farm, Mr. Ballard has made the pro- 
duction of milk for the Concord market a specialty, keep- 
ing a herd of about twenty cows, on an average, which 
are mostly natives. His land is well adapted to corn, 
and he plants about five acres to that crop each year, 
feeding the product in meal and fodder, the former being 
mixed with shorts and linseed. The annual hay crop 
is from fifty to sixty tons, which is supplemented with 
Hungarian to a considerable extent. The location of 
the farm is a pleasant one, the main portion of the tillage 
land occupying a fine, elevated ridge and commanding a 
handsome prospect, while the buildings are commodious, 
conveniently arranged, and in excellent repair, making, 
altogether, a model farm home. 



lOO NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

GEORGE W. FISHER, 

BOSCAWEN. 

Among the thrifty farmers and representative Patrons 
of Merrimack county is George W. Fisher, of Boscawen, 
who has been an industrious and successful tiller of the 
soil for nearly a quarter of a century. He is a native of 
New London, born June 26, 1837 ; a son of Levi and 
Fanny (Wilkins) Fisher. When he was five years of 
age, the family removed from New London to the old 
home of his mother, in Merrimack, where he grew to 
manhood. At nineteen, having received a good com- 
mon school education, he went to Nashua and was 
engaged in a sash and blind manufactory till the out- 
break of the Rebellion, when he enlisted in the Seventh 
New Hampshire Regiment, and went to the front, serv- 
ing in South Carolina and Florida, where the unhealthy 
climate killed more men than the rebel bullets, and 
where, in the course of two years, he lost his health 
and was discharged for disability, October 29, 1863. 

Returning home, he had so far recovered the follow- 
ing spring as to be able to work, when he went to Man- 
chester and was employed for eight years in the sash 
and blind business and as a carpenter. December 14, 
1865, he married Mary R., daughter of H. W. Green, 
of Merrimack, who died from consumption April i, 1868. 
November 30, 1869, he married Esther P., daughter of 
Peter Coffin, of Boscawen, and in May, 1872, removed 
to Boscawen, upon an engagement with his father-in- 
law, Mr. Coffin, to work a year and assist him in build- 
ing a barn. At the end of the first year he engaged for 
another, and so continued for four years, when, in the 
spring of 1876, he purchased the farm of Mr. Coffin, 
who removed to another part of the town. Here Mr. 
Fisher has since been successfully engaged in farming 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



lOI 



on his own account. He believes in mixed farming, 
running to no particular specialty, but calculating, if 
there is a failure in any one line, to make up the loss in 
some other direction. He has 230 acres of land; keeps 
four horses, about ten cows on an average, with oxen 
and young cattle ; kept sheep for many years, and finds 
a little poultry profitable, keeping about 100 hens. Of 
late he has been selling milk for the Boston market, 
finding this the most convenient and profitable disposi- 
tion of the same. 

Mr. Fisher is a charter member of Ezekiel Webster 

Grange, of which he 
has been an officer for 
many years, including 
three years' service as 
master. He has been 
three years a member 
of the Boscawen board 
of selectmen, and was 
in 1895 elected for a 
second term of three 
years, a member of 
the town school com- 
mittee. He is a mem- 
ber of the Congrega- 
tional church at Bos- 
cawen Plain, and was 
three years superin- 
tendent of the Sunday- 
school. He is an active member of the G. A. R., 
has been a member of Hillsborough Lodge, No. 2, 
I. O. O. F., of Manchester, since 1868, and was at one 
time its chaplain. Politically he is a Republican, and 
well represents the best element of his party. 

Mr. and Mrs. Fisher have reared three sons, George F., 




George W. Fisher. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. IO3 

born in Manchester, and Winfred and Levi P., born in 
Boscawen. George F. is employed by Dr. Graves, of 
Boscawen ; Winfred, who was a partner in the grocery 
firm of Balch, Chandler & Co., ofPenacook, died, deeply 
lamented, February 23, 1896; while Levi P. is at home 
on the farm with his parents. Both the younger sons 
graduated from the Bryant & Stratton Commercial Col- 
lege at Manchester. 

CASS-CARR FARM, WILMOT. 
John M. Carr, Proprietor. 

On the westerly slope of Kearsarge mountain, in the 
town of Wilmot (formerly Kearsarge Gore), is the sub- 
stantial homestead of the old New England type, now 
known as Cass-Carr farm. Here Benjamin Cass, a 
brother of Major Jonathan Cass of Exeter, who was the 
father of Lewis Cass, settled during the Revolution, and 
established a home in the wilderness. He was a black- 
smith as well as a farmer, and by diligence became pros- 
perous. He was also prominent in public affairs, and 
was one of the two men named in the act of incorpora- 
tion passed by the legislature in June, 1807, as author- 
ized to call the first town meeting in Wilmot. By his 
first wife, Abigail Bartlett of Salisbury, he had tour chil- 
dren, including one son, Gersham Bartlett, who was the 
first soldier from Wilmot in the v^'ar of 181 2, enlisting at 
twenty 3-ears of age and receiving a lieutenant's commis- 
sion. This son remained upon the farm. The second 
daughter, Elizabeth, married Nathaniel Carr, and settled 
near by. They had two children, Joseph Brown and 
Sally, who, after their parents' death, made their home 
at the Cass farm. 

Ultimately the farm came into the possession of the 
son, Joseph Brown Carr, who married Mehitable Cilley, 



I04 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

and became an influential citizen, conspicuous in town 
atfairs and a colonel in the state militia. They had one 
son, John Moore Carr, born October 30, 1836, who, 
upon attaining manhood, decided to remain upon the 
farm. He repaired and refitted the house which his 
great uncle, Gersham Bartlett Cass, had erected, and 
there brought his wife, Rhoda E. Haskins, to whom he 
was married January 3, 1858. 

The Cass-Carr farm, including the original lot "No. 
16," conveyed to Benjamin Cass, with subsequent large 
accessions, comprises about 1,000 acres, largely wood 
and pasture. The buildings, which represent the archi- 
tectural efforts of four generations, are comfortable and 
commodious. The spacious barn, 160 feet in length, 
gives storage for the 150 tons of hay cut on the place, 
while some 400 bushels of grain are also produced annu- 
ally. Mixed farming is pursued, with special attention 
to different lines at different times. Potato culture was 
once a leading feature, and 3,000 bushels of potatoes 
produced in a year. Subsequently sheep husbandry 
was largely engaged in, and 250 sheep kept on the 
place. At present milk production is the leading fea- 
ture, about twenty-five cows being kept and some 7,000 
cans shipped annually. Ensilage from a silo of seventy- 
five tons capacity constitutes an item of the food supply. 

Mr. Carr is a leading and honored citizen of Wilmot, 
and has served his townsmen as selectman, as supervisor 
for several years, and in the legislature, to which he was 
chosen in 1881, being the first Republican elected in that 
strong Democratic town. He is also now serving his 
third term as a member of the school board. He joined 
Kearsarge Grange No. 87 at its re-organization in 1878 ; 
was five years master and two years lecturer of that 
grange ; is an active member of the Merrimack County 
Pomona Grange ; served two years as district deputy of 




John M. Carr. 



I06 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

the State Grange, and has been twice chosen upon its 
executive committee, of which he is now a member. He 
is a vice-president of the Merrimack County Grange 
Fair Association, and president of the local section of the 
New England Milk Producers' Union. ■ He has also 
been for thirty-five years a member of the Masonic fra- 
ternity. 

His son and only child, Joseph Bertrand Carr, a prom- 
ising 3'oung man, died from consumption at the early 
age of twenty-four, eight months after his marriage with 
Luvia M. Collins of Wilmot. Six months later his wife 
died, and the son's widow, the younger Mrs. Carr, has 
remained at the head of the household, the guiding spirit 
of a true New England country home, taking an interest 
in all that pertains to the success of the farm work and 
in the social and educational welfare of the community, 
to whose progress Mr. Carr himself has been such an 
important contributing factor. 



STEPHEN C. PATTEE, 

Warner. 

Stephen C. Pattee of Warner traces his ancestry 
back directly to Sir William Pattee, physician to Crom- 
well and King Charles II, who was one of the founders 
of the Royal Society and was knighted in 1660. Peter 
Pattee, a son of William, born in Lansdown, England, 
in 1648, emigrated to Virginia in 1669, and after re- 
maining a few years removed to Haverhill, Mass., where 
he married and became the father of a family. 

His great-grandson, John Pattee, a son of Capt. Asa 
Pattee, settled in Warner about 1786, on the farm where 
Stephen C. now resides, and known as " Maple Grange," 
and his son, Asa, inherited the place. The latter mar- 



a\ 







Stei'Hex C. Pattee. 



I08 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

ried Sally, daughter of Stephen Colby, one of the early 
settlers of the town, and their son, Stephen C, the sub- 
ject of this sketch, ultimately came into possession of the 
homestead. 

Mr. Pattee was born, January ii, 1828. He was ed- 
ucated in Warner, Contoocook, and Bradford, attending 
select schools in the latter places, and at twenty years of 
age commenced teaching school in winter, which busi- 
ness he followed for twenty winters, in this state and 
Massachusetts. He has ever since been connected with 
educational matters, having served many terms as a mem- 
ber of the board of education, and having been made one 
of the trustees for life, of the Simonds Free High 
School of Warner, by the will of the donor, the late 
Franklin Simonds. 

The agricultural operations in which Mr. Pattee has 
been engaged have been varied. Previous to 1862 he 
pursued mixed farming. He then made fine wool a 
specialty, and when that went down he changed to coarse 
wool and made lambs a specialty. He has also raised 
some excellent horses, which have been disposed of at 
paying prices, always breeding to the best, such as Mam- 
brino Wilkes, Almont Eagle, Vittoria, and a Son of Vik- 
ing. For the last six years milk production has been his 
leading line, his cows being grade Holstein and Jersey, 
which he considers best for the purpose. Each cow tests 
above the standard, and in 1894 they averaged $90 for 
milk delivered at the station. He raised wheat success- 
fully for many years, and was awarded a diploma and 
bronze medal for corn shown at the Chicago Exposition 
in 1893. The tarm has been increased from the original 
sixty acres owned by his father to three hundred acres, 
while two new houses have been erected and two addi- 
tions made to the barn. 

Mr. Pattee has served his town eight years as a member 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. IO9 

of the board of selectmen, first in 1856, at 28 years of 
age, and last in 1890. He also served in the state legis- 
lature in 1861 and 1862. In 1871 he was instrumental in 
organizing the Kearsarge Agricultural and Mechanical 
Association, which held twenty-three successful annual 
fairs in Warner. He has taken an active part in Grange 
work from the outset, and served six years as a member 
of the executive committee of the State Grange. He has 
also written much for the agricultural press, having been 
many years a regular paid correspondent of the People 
and Patriot^ Boston Ctiltivator, New Enoland Farmer^ 
Couni7'y Gentleman, and Germantozun Telegraph. He 
was at one time engaged by the Board of Agriculture to 
give an address on " Wheat Culture," before the Agri- 
cultural College at Hanover and at institutes in various 
localities. 

Mr. Pattee was united in marriage, January 9, 1853, 
with Sally Currier, a true and worthy wife, who died May 
5, 1895. Their three sons, all living, are Jesse B. Pattee, 
a lawyer, and Dr. W. H. Pattee, both of Manchester, 
and George Q^ Pattee, now of Boston. 



MAPLE GROVE FARM, ANTRIM, 

Hon. D. H. Goodell, Proprietor. 

It is more than half a centur}' since New Hampshire 
had a governor distinctively known as a farmer, but 
David H. Goodell, of Antrim, who occupied the execu- 
tive chair in i889-'90, though generally known as a 
manufacturer, retains and resides upon the farm on 
which he was reared from childhood, and takes a strong 
interest in agricultural affairs. This farm, generally 
known as " Maple Grove farm," from the fine grove of 
rock-maple trees occupying the grounds in front of the 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



Ill 



house, which is located at the upper end of Antrim vil- 
lage, was purchased by Jesse R. Goodell, father of 
David H., in March, 1841, when he removed from the 
town of Hillsborough, his son being seven years of age 
at the time. As originally purchased, it included 165 
acres; but with the addition of other farms and adjacent 
land purchased, it now embraces about 400 acres, while 
outlying pasture and woodland in Antrim and Hancock 
brings the total up to 600. 

Governor Goodell, who has continued his residence 
on the farm, has made 
stock raising his prin- 
cipal line of farm busi- 
ness, excellence being 
the object aimed at. 
For a time he made 
a specialty of Durham 
stock, and established 
a fine reputation for 
the same in breeding 
and in butter making ; 
but some ten or twelve 
years ago his attention 
was called to the Hol- 
steins, when he pur- 
chased a fine blooded 
bull and a heifer of 
that breed, and soon 

after added five more choice two-year-old heifers, fresh 
from Holland, selected for him by Dudley Miller, and 
has since been building up a herd of which he has every 
reason to be proud, and which is indeed a credit to the 
state. He has generally about seventy-five head, of 
which from twenty to twenty-five are milch cows, whose 
product goes to market in the shape of cream, the milk 




Richard C. Goodell. 



112 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

being retained upon the farm and fed to the calves. 
The specialty of this iierd is cows of great butter capac- 
ity. Its reputation is widely extended, and many choice 
animals of both sexes sold therefrom in the past few 
years have contributed largely to the improvement of 
other herds, both in the immediate neighborhood and 
at a distance. 

Governor Goodell was one of the early champions of 
the silo in New Hampshire, and among the first to adopt 
its use. He has two substantially constructed silos with 
a joint capacity of about 350 tons. Into these he packs 
the product of about thirteen acres of ensilage corn each 
season, and this, with the ninety tons of hay cut on the 
farm, furnishes ample food for his stock. Since his 
adoption of the ensilage system the feeding capacity of 
the farm has nearly trebled. He has long been an 
active member of the New England Agricultural Society, 
serving upon the board of directors, and was also for 
two terms the Hillsborough county member of the New 
Hampshire State Board of Agriculture, being appointed 
for three years in 1879, ^"^ reappointed in 1882, and 
took more than an ordinary interest in the work of that 
organization. 

His two sons, D. Dana and Richard C, remain at 
home. The latter, now twenty-seven years of age, who 
was educated at Colby Academy, New London, and 
who subsequently spent some time in the West, though 
interested in the manufacturing establishment and hold- 
ing the office of vice-president of the company, has taken 
special interest in the farm, and is now practically in 
charge of the same. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



II' 



AUGUSTINE R. AYERS, 

North "Boscawen. 

Augustine Rogers Ayers is a native of Gilinanton, born 
September 28, 1839. ^^ ^^ '^ ^^^^ of Jonathan and Mary 
(Rogers) Ayers, and through his mother a descendant 

in the ninth genera- 
tion of the noted John 
Rogers, the martyr ot 
Smithfield. Removing 
with his parents to 
Canterbury when four 
years of age, he was 
there reared on a farm 
and familiarized with 
all the details of farm 
life, the care of stock 
being one of the fea- 
tures which most fully 
commanded his devo- 
tion. Circumstances, 
however, impelled him 
to leave the farm and 
engage in mercantile 
life in Concord, where he continued, in different lines, 
for about thirty-three years, with the exception of a term 
of service in the Union army in the late war, as a mem- 
ber of the Fifteenth New Hampshire Volunteers. 

In 1890, feeling the need of a change for the benefit 
of his health, he determined to return to agriculture. 
His love for good horses had been indulged to a con- 
siderable extent while in business in Concord, and upon 
commencing farm operations upon the old Jacob Gerrish 
place at North Boscawen, he first turned his attention to 
the breeding of trotting horses, which he pursued tor a 
time with success, but on the decline of this branch of 




Augustine R. Avers. 



114 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



farm industry he changed to dairying. His attention 
having been directed to the Holstein-Freisian as a desir- 
able dairy animal, he secured, through ex-Governor 
Goodell and others, a tew good registered animals of this 
breed, from the Russell importation, and has steadily 
increased and improved his herd, which now numbers 
about thirty-five head altogether, including some excel- 
lent representatives of the best strains. He milks about 
eighteen cows, giving them good ordinary care and 




Residence of A. R. Ayers, North Boscawen. 

making no effort for extra records, but securing very 
satisfactory results. He wholesales his milk at present 
to dealers for the Concord market, in pi-eference to selling 
at the cars, now so generally done in this section. 

The farm, which embraces two hundred and seventy- 
five acres, is finely located on the Boston & Maine rail- 
road. Concord division, running back from the Merri- 
mack river a mile and a half upon the hills. There are 
about seventy-five acres of river land of ready access 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. II5 

and easy tillage, the balance being pasture and wood 
land. When Mr. Ayers took possession the farm had 
been much neglected, but has been greatly improved 
already, some forty acres having been brought into first 
class condition. He had eleven acres in corn in 1896, 
and several acres in oats and potatoes, having raised 
from three hundred to twelve hundred bushels of the 
latter each year. He has already built a 100-foot barn 
with cellar under the whole, a poultry house and cart 
house, and put in a silo of seventy-five tons capacity, 
and has many other improvements in contemplation. 
There are about six hundred apple trees on the place 
and in the future fruit promises to be an important 
product. 

Mr. Ayers is an enthusiastic Patron of Husbandry, 
having joined Capital Grange of Concord in 1886, and 
transferring his membership to Ezekiel Webster Grange 
of Boscawen after his removal. In 1896 he was over- 
seer of the latter grange, while his wife was secretary 
and his eldest son assistant steward. He married June 4, 
1873, Clara Maria, daughter of Hon. John Kimball of 
Concord. They have five children — Ruth Ames, John 
Kimball, Helen McGregor, Augustine Haines, and Ben- 
jamin Kimball, the eldest being a special student in Cor- 
nell University. Mr. Ayers is a member of the South 
Congregational church of Concord, Rumford Lodge, 
I. O. O. F., and E. E. Sturtevant Post, G. A. R. 



WALTER SARGENT, 
Warner. 



"Elm Farm," charmingly located in the town of 
Warner, about two miles above the village, on the road 
to Kearsarge mountain, has been the delightful summer 
home of numerous rest- and pleasure-seekers for many 




Walter Sargent. 



PERSONAL AND P'ARM SKETCHES. II7 

years past. Its proprietor, Walter Sargent, is a native 
of the town, born December 25, 1837, ^'s father, Abner 
Sargent, being then a partner of Thomas H. Bartlett in 
mercantile business. His first ancestor in this country was 
William Sargent, a son of Richard Sargent of the British 
Royal navy, who settled in Ipswich, Mass., in 1633, and 
from whom he is a lineal descendant in the eighth gen- 
eration. 

When he was about two years of age his father sold 
out his business in Warner and settled on a farm in that 
part of Boscawen which is now Webster, where he grew 
to manhood, meanwhile industriously laboring upon the 
farm, attending the district school, and the Salisbury, 
Hopkinton, Franklin, and Contoocook academies, and 
teaching school, himself, winters, for a number of years. 
He also worked considerably at carpentering, and ac- 
quired a good knowledge of the business, which he has 
since found advantageous in arranging his own buildings 
and assisting others. At the age of twenty-five years he 
married Addie C, daughter of Capt. Samuel Morrill of 
Andover, and was for several years engaged in the m.an- 
agement of Captain Morrill's farm. Subsequently, in 
1867, he removed to Warner and settled upon the farm 
upon which he now resides. He found the buildings 
somewhat out of repair, and very inconvenient, and 
commenced to re-build in a thorough and systematic 
manner, believing that " what is worth doing at all is 
worth doing well," and he now has a well-arranged and 
convenient set of farm buildings. He has also added to 
the acreage, so that his farm now contains about 250 
acres. 

In his farming operations he believes in thorough cul- 
tivation, and in mixed farming. He has raised some 
valuable colts, and breeds Delaine Merino sheep, of 
which he usually has wintered from fifty to seventy-five. 




w 
o 

CO 

w 

H 
< 



W 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. II9 

His sheep show the advantages of thoroughness in breed- 
ing, and careful selection. His dairy is mostly Guern- 
sey and Jersey, from which he usually disposes of his 
butter to regular customers. The skim milk is fed to 
hogs, which tends to greatly increase the fertility of the 
farm. Although he is not averse to buying grain under 
ordinary conditions, he considers it much more advanta- 
geous to raise it, and believes he can raise corn cheaper 
than he can buy it. He usually raises from two to three 
hundred bushels of corn each year, besides other grain, 
which is all fed upon the farm. 

Mr. Sargent has served his townsmen as selectman 
and as a member of the school board, and aided in the 
organization of the Simonds Free High school. He has 
taken an interest in all matters pertaining to agricultural 
progress and was for several years secretary of the 
Kearsarge Agricultural and Mechanical Association. 
He has been a member of Warner Grange since its or- 
ganization in 1877 ; was secretary of the Merrimack 
County Council and charter secretary of Merrimack 
County Pomona Grange. He retains his interest in 
grange v\ork, but on account of impaired hearing is de- 
barred from active participation therein. 

Mr. Sargent's first wite died in 1873, leaving two sons, 
Frank H., now assistant postmaster at Harriman, Tenn., 
and George H., city-editor of the St. Paul Piuneer Press. 

October 3, 1877, he married Mrs. Fannie A. (Fellows) 
Shaw, youngest daughter of Dea. Richard Fellows of 
Salisbury, with whom he is now living, and whose 
gracious manner adds a charm to the ready hospitality 
which a host of friends and acquaintances enjoy at the 
Elm Farm home. 




Frank R. Woodward. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 121 

FRANK R. WOODWARD, 
Hill. 

Agriculture in New Hampshire, as well as elsewhere, 
has been greatly benefited by the attention of men who, 
having devoted themselves primarily to professional life, 
business, or manufacturing, have been led from love of 
the soil to devote their leisure, or have otherwise appro- 
priated time, and expended something of the profits of 
their business in these other lines, in the management 
and cultivation of farms. A tine example of this class is 
Frank R. Woodward of Hill, a successful manufacturer 
of light hardware, who has been well known in agri- 
cultural and Grange circles for several years past, in 
central New Hampshire. 

Mr. Woodward is a native of the town of Salisbury, 
born February 9, 1845. His parents, Daniel S. and 
Dorcas (Adams) Woodward, both came of Revolutionary 
stock. They removed to Penacook (then Fisher- 
ville) in 1848, and in 1852 to Franklin, where in the 
public schools and at Noyes Academy Frank R. received 
his education. In 1868, he went to Manchester where 
he was engaged as superintendent of the Forsaith latch 
needle factory, which business he purchased in 1870, 
and, two years later, removed it to the town of Hill. In 
1873, he sold out the needle business and engaged in 
the manufacture of glass-cutters and other light hard- 
ware, for which he has established a world-wide reputa- 
tion. 

Mr. Woodward is a public-spirited citizen and has 
done much to advance the prosperity of the town in the 
way of building, and carrying out local improvements, 
putting in an efficient system of water-works, donating 
the land, laying out, grading, and fencing a fine ceme- 
tery, etc. Although his agricultural operations are 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 1 23 

incidental in a measure they are by no means limited in 
extent. He has two farms — Pleasant tlill farm, just 
outside the village, and Birchdale, three and a half 
miles away. At Pleasant Hill butter-making for local 
consumers is the specialty, and at Birchdale milk sold at 
the cars is the main product. He has seven hundred 
acres of land altogether, much of which is in wood and 
timber, whose product is cut for use in his manufactur- 
incr. 

He has expended a great deal in improving stock and 
in experiments on farm crops to get the most profitable 
forage, and has met with good success in this line, having 
demonstrated to the farmers of the locality that the old, 
worn-out farms may be made to keep a stock of cows 
that will yield a profit, and bring up the farms to a good 
state of production by first using commercial fertilizers 
to raise the corn crop to fill the silo. He makes his hogs 
help to renovate the old brush land by cutting the brush 
and pasturing with hogs, and in two years gets the land, 
which was too tough to break with the plow, in good 
condition for seeding down to mowing. He was a 
charter member and the first overseer of Pemigewasset 
Grange, No. 107, of Hill, and has also served as master 
and secretary of that organization, in whose prosperity 
he has ever been deeply interested as well as in that of 
the order at large, having been for several years an active 
member of the Merrimack County Pomona Grange. 

He is a Royal Arch Mason, Odd Fellow, Knight of 
Honor, Knight of Pythias, Red Man, and Good Tem- 
plar, being a charter member of Hill Lodge of Good 
Templars, and serving for several terms as chief tem- 
plar. In politics he is a Democrat, and, although living 
in a strong Republican town, has served upon the board 
of education, as supervisor, and in other town offices, 
and in 1884 was chosen representative by a large 



124 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

majority. In 1885, after the session of the legislature, 
he resigned his office as representative and accepted 
the position of post-master, the same having been given 
without solicitation on his part. He is a member of the 
Christian church in Hill, a life director of the society, 
and has been superintendent of the Sunday-school since 
its organization. He also has charge of the church 
property. 

Mr. Woodward has been twice married. Five child- 
ren by his first wife are all deceased. By his second 
wife, Ella E. Hilpert. he has one son, Harold A., born 
April 29, 1888. They enjoy a pleasant home life and 
■dispense a cheerful hospitality. 



SIMON A. TENNEY, 

Newport. 

Simon A. Tenney of Newport, son of Isaac C. and 
Louisa D. (Buel) Tenney, was born in that town De- 
cember 18, 1842, being the eldest of six children, largely 
dependent upon the mother, who plied the needle early 
and late, making garments for others, that her children 
might grow up useful members of society. After a lim- 
ited schooling young Tenney commenced working out 
by the day, and later, by the month and year, mostly at 
farming, for about eight years, till at the outbreak of the 
war, when twenty years of age, he enlisted, serving in 
all two years and nineteen days in the heavy artillery. 
For four years subsequently he worked on a dairy and 
truck farm in Burlington, Mass., when he married and 
returned to his native town, purchasing an interval farm 
(Sugar Vale Farm) on the south branch of Sugar river, 
a mile from the village, where he has since lived and has 
reared a family of five children. He has greatly im- 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 1 25 

proved the appearance and productiveness of his farm^ 
making a specialty of dairying. He keeps a dozen 
cows and has retailed the milk in the village for more 
than twenty years. Mr. Tenney was active in the 
organization of the Newport Agricultural and Mechani- 
cal Association, serving as secretary four years and 
president two, taking a leading part in the management 
of the town fairs. He was the first signer of the petition 
for the institution of Sullivan Grange and was its charter 
secretary, serving two years, and two years as master ; 
was two years a district deputy, and was chosen master 
of Sullivan Count}' Pomona Grange in December, 1895. 
He is a Congregationalist in religion and has been super- 
intendent of the Sunday-school. Politically he is a Re- 
publican and has been honored by his party in various 
directions. He has served as countv correspondent for 
the United States Department of Agriculture, and news 
correspondent of various farm and local papers. He is 
a member of the G. A. R., and past commander of Fred 
Smyth Post, No. 10, of Newport. 



HON. WILLIAM D. BAKER, 

RUMNEY. 

Among those prominently identified before the public 
with the dairy interest, now one of the most important 
and progressive branches of agriculture in New Hamp- 
shire, is Hon. W. D. Baker of Rumney, through whose 
efforts, and under whose management, the New Hamp- 
shire butter exhibit at the World's Columbian Exposition 
at Chicago in 1893, was collected, transported, arranged, 
and displayed. This exhibit, it will be remembered, 
won for the Granite state the first rank among all the 
states for the average excellence of its exhibits, and gave 



126 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

an impetus, thereby, to the dairy business in New Hamp- 
shire such as could not otherwise have been experienced. 
A general committee of^ three had been appointed by the 
State Dairymen's Association to take the matter of this 
exhibit in charge, the other members of the committee 
being J. L. Gerrish of Webster and George W. Stanley 
of Langdon ; but Mr. Baker was designated by the com- 
mittee to take personal charge of the work, and the 
outcome proved the efficiency of his labor. 

Mr. Baker is a native of the city of Philadelphia, born 
September 7, 1854. ^'^ parents, Samuel D. and Mary 
E. (Harris) Baker, were New Hampshire people, how- 
ever, the former a native of Campton and the latter of 
Rumney, in which latter town they located in his child- 
hood, on the Joshua Harris place near Qiiincy station, 
where the mother was born. He attended the town 
schools and Philips Exeter Academy, graduating from 
the latter in 1878. In 1885 he married Winnifred A. 
Woodbury of Island Pond, Vt., and has been since 
established in the pursuit of agriculture on the home 
place at Quincy, to which he has added largely by pur- 
chase, acquiring the main portion of the farm owned by 
the late Hon. Josiah Quincy, so that he has now about 
200 acres of land, his place being known as the Elmwood 
Dairy Farm. His specialties are dairying and breeding, 
his stock being Jersey-Holstein cross breeds. 

Mr. Baker has been a leading spirit in the Granite 
State Dairymen's Association and a director from the 
start, and has generally had charge of the exhibit and 
practical tests of the Association, and has addressed 
various organizations and public gatherings on practical 
dairy topics. He made four trips to Chicago as superin- 
tendent of the New Hampshire exhibit at the World's 
Fair, taking out 153 separate exhibits of which 103 were 
awarded medals and diplomas. With the October exhibit 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. I27 

he took out a display of fruit, collected at his own 
expense, showing 60 varieties and 250 plates of apples, 
the same being credited to the state, and awarded a 
medal and diploma. This exhibit was instrumental in 
creating a strong demand for New Hampshire apples at 
the West. A movement then inaugurated resulted in the 
organization of the New Hampshire Horticultural Soci- 
ety, of which Mr. Baker was chosen, and has contin- 
ued, secretary. He is also an active manager and sec- 
retary of the Grafton County Agricultural Society, and 
a vice-president of the National Dairymen's Union. 

In politics, Mr. Baker is an active Republican, and 
prominent in public affairs, being chairman of the 
board of selectmen and library trustees in Rumney, 
member of the last state senate from the Plymouth 
district and chairman of the committee on agriculture in 
that bodv, and also a member of the Republican state 
central committee. He is an earnest Patron of Hus- 
bandry, has been master of Rumne}^ Grange and of 
Grafton County Pomona Grange, and is also a district 
deputy of the State Grange. 

Generallv speaking, Mr. Baker is wdiat is know^n as a 
"hustler," and few men put more zeal and energy into 
their work than he. 



GEORGE H. WADLEIGH, 

TiLTON. 

George H. Wadleigh, the present member of the 
Board of Agricultvn^e for Belknap county, is a native of 
Sanbornton, a son of Joseph D. and Sarah S. (Hunt) 
Wadleigh, born November 17, 1S50. He remained at 
home, assisting iiis father on the farm, where a specialty 
was the raising of a superior quality of corn, until 1881, 



128 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



when he married Lilla M., daughter of Benjamin F. and 
Mary S. (Smith) Cass, of Tilton, and settled in that 
town, where he has since had his home. Two children 
have made them happy — Grace M., who awaits them 
" over there," and Lewis J. 

Mr. Wadleigh regards agriculture as a scientific pur- 
suit, and as a farmer puts his best thought into his work. 
He is progressive, awake to the demands of the times, 

and ready to discard 
old traditions whenever 
science has discovered 
new truths to take their 
place. His specialties 
are stock and poultry 
raising, and improve- 
ment is his watchword. 
He has recently in- 
troduced an e^xellent 
herd of red polled cat- 
tle, purchased in west- 
ern New York, and the 
tirst brought into the 
state. He believes this 
breed admirably adapt- 
ed, both for stock and 
dair}^ purposes. He 
has a maple orchard of over six hundred trees, and ex- 
cels in sugar making, having been engaged in it from 
boyhood. The product linds a ready sale among those 
who have become acquainted with its merits. 

He was a member of the Sanbornton Farmers' Club 
several years before the organization of Harmony 
Grano-e in that town, of which he was a charter mem- 
ber, as well as of the Belknap County Pomona Grange, 
having been chaplain, lecturer, and master of the for- 




Geokge g. Wadleigh. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 1 29 

mer. He was active in the organization of the Grange 
State Fair Association, and was chairman of the com- 
mittee to prepare the first premium list. He was one 
year superintendent of the poultry department, three 
years of the cattle department, six years treasurer, and 
is at present secretary of the association. He was ap- 
pointed a member of the Board of Agriculture in 1894, 
and has taken .a deep interest in the work of the Board. 

In politics Mr. Wadleigh is a Republican, and was a 
representative from the town of Tilton in the legislature 
of 1893. In Sanbornton he was an active member of 
the First Baptist church. That he might enjoy a more 
convenient church home, after his location in Tilton, he 
united with the Methodist Episcopal church in that place, 
of which he is at present treasurer, and is also superin- 
tendent of the Sunday-school. 



HON. CHARLES McDANIEL, 

Springfield. 

Among the largest landholders, best representative 
t'armers, and most influential citizens of the county of 
Sullivan is Charles McDaniel of Springfield, a native of 
that town, born July 22, 1835, a son of James McDaniel 
who occupied the old homestead whereon his grand- 
father, of the same name, a descendant of the Scotch 
McDaniels of the north of Ireland, had originally settled 
in the latter part of the last century. Growing up on 
the farm, and thoroughly accustomed to its labors in all 
directions, the young man, like many another farmer's 
son, had a taste for mental as well as physical culture, 
and sought instruction beyond that attainable in the dis- 
trict school, which he secured b}^ attendance at the 

academies in Andover, New London, and Canaan, and 
9 



130 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

himself engaged in teaching, one or more terms per 
year, from the age of eighteen until nearly forty, 
making his home with his father meanwhile, and devot- 
ing a portion of the time to farm labor, until, upon his 
father's decease, he purchased the interest of the other 
heirs in the place, and assumed the full management 
thereof, with which he has since been mainly occupied. 

The farm, which is located in the western portion of 
Springfield, has been largely increased in extent under 
the present owner, and now embraces about 800 acres of 
land, of which about 150 is in mowing and tillage, and 
the remainder in pasture and woodland. Aside from 
the home farm, however, Mr. McDaniel has about 400 
acres of outland, a considerable proportion of which is 
in the town of Grantham. Mixed farming is pursued, 
with dair3nng as the leading feature at present. An 
average crop of about 125 tons of hay, supplemented by 
ensilage from a 75 ton silo, furnishes winter subsistence 
for the stock, consisting of some 50 head of neat cattle, 
100 sheep, and half a dozen horses. From 15 to 20 
cows are kept, butter being supplied to private custo- 
mers, and the balance of cream sold to the Sullivan 
Creamery, at Grantham. 

In politics Mr. McDaniel is a Democrat, and has been 
much in public life, having been elected a member of 
the board of selectmen, and an overseer of the poor in 
1862, and having since served repeatedly as chairman 
of the board, also as town treasurer and school commit- 
tee. He represented Springfield in the legislature of 
1868, and again in 1891, when he was an active mem- 
ber of the Committee on Agriculture. He has also been 
voted for by his party for important county offices, and 
was the Democratic candidate for congress in the second 
district in 1894. He was for six years a member of the 
state board of agriculture for Sullivan count}^ and for 




Hon. Charles McDaniel. 



132 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

eight years past has been a trustee of the New Hamp- 
shire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts, 
devoting much attention to the interests of the institution 
during the period covering its removal to, and establish- 
ment at, Durham. In 1895 he was appointed by Gov- 
ernor Busiel a member of the State Board of Equalization. 

In the order of Patrons of Husbandry no man in New 
Hampshire is better known, or more iiighly esteemed, 
than Mr. McDaniel. He was long master, and is at 
present secretary of Montcalm Grange, Enfield Centre ; 
was the lirst master of Mascoma Valley Pomona Grange ; 
three years overseer, and five years master of the State 
Grange, also member and secretary of its executive com- 
mittee, and chaplain of the National Grange from 1891 
to 1893. 

Mr. McDaniel is a member of Social Lodge, F. and 
A. M. of Enfield, and of the Chapter of the Tabernacle, 
Royal Arch Masons. In religion he is a Universalist. 
Mav 31, 1862, he was united in marriage with Miss 
Amanda M. Quimby of Springfield. They have had 
five children, but one of whom survives, Cora, a gradu- 
ate of the New Hampshire State Normal school, for several 
years a teacher, and now the wife of P. S. Currier of 
Plymouth. 



GEORGE PEABODY LITTLE, 

Pembroke. 

One of the most prosperous agricultural communities 
in the state is to be found in the town of Pembroke. 
" Pembroke Street " is, in fact, a farming village, and 
the fertile and well cultivatedfields on either side, and the 
substantial farm houses all along the way, are an unfail- 
ing delight to the eye of the passing traveler. x\mong 
the best of the many excellent farms here situated is that 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



of George P. Little, who has won a prominent position 
in agricultural circles, particularly as a breeder of^ Jersey 
cattle, in which line he was extensively engaged for many 
years. 

The son of Dr. Elbridge G. and Sophronia (Peabody) 
Little — his mother being a sister of the noted London 
banker, George Peabody, for whom he was named and 
at whose decease he was handsomely remembered — he 

was born at Pembroke, 
N. Y., June 20, 1834. 
In 1846 he came, with 
his mother, to Pem- 
broke in this state to 
continue his education 
at the academy there, 
he having previously, 
for a time, attended the 
Levviston, N. Y., Acad- 
emy. Subsequentl}' he 
attended the Gymna- 
sium and Military In- 
stitute, a noted school 
which flourished then 
at the " Street " in ri- 
valry with the Acade- 
my. The winter after 
he was eighteen years of age he taught school in 
Pembroke, but went the next year to Portland, Me., 
where he was in mercantile business live years. Thence 
he went to Boston where he was similarly engacred for a 
time; but having developed a strong taste for photoo-ra- 
phy, he Anally located in Palmyra, N. Y., where he 
pursued that business for ten years, until 1868, when he 
came back to Pembroke and purchased the farm where 
he now resides, erecting thereon a fine residence, spacious 




George Peabody Little. 




Oh 



o 



p^ 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 135 

barn and other necessary buildings, effecting various 
other improvements, and adding to the acreage from time 
to time. He has about 225 acres in the home place, witii 
back farms and woodland, to the extent of some 700 or 
800 acres in all. The mowing and tillage includes about 
75 acres, and the annual hay product is about 100 tons. As 
has been stated, Mr. Little was for many years a breeder 
of Jerseys — registered animals of a superior class, which 
he sold all over the country. He has also been a breeder 
of fine horses, and has bought and sold horses exten- 
sively, but of late he has been inclined to an easier life 
and has relinquished his activity in these lines. 

Mr. Little has taken an active interest in public affairs 
in the town of his adoption, and is one of its most hon- 
ored and influential citizens. A Republican in politics, 
he had served as deputy U. S. collector of internal rev- 
enue while residing in New York. In Pembroke he has 
been several years town treasurer, three years selectman, 
was a representative in the legislature in 1876 and 1877 
and again in 1890-91. He was treasurer of Merrimack 
county four years, and a delegate in the last constitutional 
convention. He is a 32-degree Mason, and Knight 
Templar, an Odd Fellow, and deacon of the Congrega- 
tional church in Pembroke. 

He married Elizabeth N., daughter of Daniel Knox of 
Pembroke, August 22, 1854. They have six children 
living, a son and five daughters. The son, Hon. C. B. 
Little, a lawyer of Bismarck, North Dakotah, has been 
a member of the state senate and chairman of the judi- 
ciary committee the last eight years. Of the daughters, 
Mary G. is the wife of James E. Odlin, Esq., of Lynn, 
Mass. ; Lizzie E. married L. F. Thurber of Nashua ; 
Nettie H. is Mrs. Frank E. Shepard of Concord ; Lucy 
B. is at home, and Clara F. the wife of Herman S. Salt 
of Brooklyn, N. Y. 



136 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

CHRISTOPHER C. SHAW, 

MiLFORD. 

Although mainly engaged in other business, in another 
state, there are few names better known in agricultural 
circles in New Hampshire than that of Christopher C. 
Shaw of Milford. Mr. Shaw was born in Milford 
March 20, 1824, on the farm he now occupies, and 
which was purchased, by a paternal ancestor, from the 
town of Charlestown, Mass., about 1744, it having been 
granted by the legislature for school purposes in 1659. 
He comes of a patriotic family, three of his ancestors 
having .served in the Revolutionary war, and one in the 
War of 181 2. At eigliteen years of age he was clerk of 
the state militia in Milford, and captain of the same a 
year later. At this time he commenced retailing dry 
goods from house to house, and, two years later, opened 
a country store in Milford, continuing till 1848, when he 
closed out and established himself in the dry goods busi- 
ness in Lawrence, Mass. Two years after he removed 
to Boston, and was similarly engaged for a time on Han- 
over street, but finally connected himself with the large 
importing and jobbing dry goods house of J. W. Blod- 
gett & Co., in which line he has continued, as proprietor 
or salesman, with the exception of about seven and a 
half years, immediately following the great fire of 1872, 
in Boston, which destro3^ed his business and retired him 
to his farm in Milford. 

Attracted by the Grange movement sweeping over 
the great West about this time, and investigating the 
same, he arranged to have the first deputy of the order 
coming to the state, visit him at Miltbrd. He soon re- 
ceived a call from General Deputy Eben Thompson, of 
the National Grange, and in two days Granite Grange, 
No. 7, was organized in Milford, with Mr. Shaw as 





^^ ^ 


\ 




\ 


lto^ 


^ 


^^^^^Hk 



Christopher ('. Shaw 



138 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

master. A few weeks later the State Grange was 
organized, and he was elected secretary, and appointed 
general deputy. Subsequently, he was made purchas- 
ing agent for the state. In January, 1877, the state 
mutual fire insurance company was organized, with Mr. 
Shaw as president, which position he held for seven 
years. In December following lie was chosen secretary 
ot the Patron's Relief Association, and president of the 
same in January, 1893. From 1873 to 1880, when he 
resigned all official positions in the Grange to resume 
mercantile business in Boston, his time was largely spent 
in organizing subordinate Granges, and otherwise devel- 
oping the order in the state, and no man is held in greater 
esteem by the older members of the Grange in New 
Hampshire. 

Mr. Shaw has been an enthusiast in the culture of 
fruit, and a large exhibitor of fruit, vegetables, fancy 
poultry, Chester county swine, and Jersey cattle at the 
New England and other leading fairs. He has been a 
trustee of the New England Agricultural, and a life 
member of that, and of the Massachusetts Horticultural 
and American Pomological Societies for many years. 
While making an exhibition of fruit at the Chicago 
Columbian Exposition, he became dissatisfied with New 
Hampshire's showing in this direction, and, with a few 
others, took action which resulted in the organization of 
the New Hampshire Horticultural Society, of which he 
was elected, and still remains, president, and which he 
hopes will yet become an instrument of great value in 
developing the agricultural resources of the state, along 
the lines of fruit and vegetable culture. 

Politically, Mr. Shaw was born a Whig, but early 
became an Abolitionist, and graduated into the Republi- 
can party at its organization. He served the town of 
Milford in the legislature in 1875 and 1876, and the 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



139 



party seven years as a member of its state committee. 
He is strongly interested in historical matters, and is 
president of the Milford Historical and Genealogical 
Society. In religion he is a Liberalist, and is president 
of the Veteran Spiritualist Union of Boston. He was 
united in marriage, August 27, 1846, with Rebecca 
Peabody Hutchinson of Milford, a descendant of Captain 
Nathan Hutchinson, a Revolutionary soldier and one of 
the first settlers of the town. They have had three chil- 
dren, of whom two, Horatio Christopher and Charles 
Jacob, survive. 



WILLIAM H. CHADWICK, 

Sutton. 

Of rough and rugged surface, but strong soil, which 
responds satisfactorily to faithful cultivation, the town of 
Sutton, in the " back-bone" region of the state, includes 
a number of successful farmers among its population, ol 
whom William H. Chadwick is a worthy representative. 
Mr. Chadwick occupies the old home of his father, 
Edmund Chadwick, in the north part of the town, and 
embracing 170 acres of land, with a good set of build- 
ings thereon. He was born August 31, 1848, educated 
in the town schools, and has spent his life principally 
upon the farm. His farming is of the mixed order, 
though milk production is a leading item, the same 
being sold at the cars in Bradford. He cuts from 35 
to 40 tons of hay annually, and uses ensilage as a sup- 
plementary feed. His stock consists of about 25 head of 
neat cattle, including eight cows, three or four horses, 
and a small flock of sheep, from which he usually sells 
a few early lambs at a good profit. 

Mr. Chadwick was a charter member of Sutton 
Grange, and has held some ofiice in the organization 



140 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICUETURE. 

nearly every 3^ear since the start, having been master four 
years, from 1890, and taking a strong interest in the 
prosperity of the order. In religion he is a Universalist, 
and politically a Democrat and as such was elected as 
the delegate from Sutton, in the last state constitutional 
convention, though the town is ordinarily Republican. 

Mr. Chadwick has been three times married, having 
lost two wives by death, the first being Miss Susie 
Coburn of Sutton, and the second Miss Emma Morgan 
of Salem, Mass. A daughter b}^ the second wife is also 
deceased. His present wife was Miss Effie Merrill of 
Sutton, by whom he has one child — a son now about 
two years of age. 



THE COGSWELL HOMESTEAD— GILMANTON, 

CoL. Thomas Cogswell, Proprietor. 

Prominent among the old historic homesteads of Belknap 
count}^ is tlie Cogswell place in Gilmanton, embracing 
the contiguous estates of Gen. Joseph Badger and Col. 
Thomas Cogswell, natives of Haverhill, Mass., who set- 
tled here, the former in 1763 and the latter at the close of 
the Revolutionar}' War, throughout w^iich he served gal- 
lantl}^ with his seven brothers. General Badger was a 
member of the New Hampshire provincial congress and 
of the first constitutional convention, and was prominent 
in public affairs. He died in 1803. His daughter, Ruth, 
was the wife of Colonel Cogswell. The latter was also 
an influential citizen, and chief justice of the court of 
common pleas from 1784, until his death in 1810. 

In 1820, Thomas Cogswell of Atkinson, a nephew of 
Colonel Thomas, and son of Gen. William and Judith 
(Badger) Cogswell, located in Gilmanton, uniting in his 
possession the Badger and Cogswell farms. He was a 
young man of twenty-one, having just been united in 



142 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

marriage with Mary Noyes. Coming of a strong and 
distinguished ancestr}-, and endowed with great natural 
abilities, he soon became a leader of the people, and was 
conspicuous in all the affairs of this important town, serv- 
ing repeatedly as moderator, selectman, and representa- 
tive ; as deputy sheriff, associate justice of the court of com- 
mon pleas, and member of the executive council, while his 
success as afarmer was also marked, an addition of some 
500 acres having been made to his estate, this portion 
subsequently constituting the farm of his elder son, the 
late James W. Cogswell. At the death of Judge Cogs- 
well, August 8, 1868, his younger son, Col. Thomas 
Cogswell, Jr., came into possession of the homestead, 
and its management has since been in his hands. 

Colonel Cogswell was born February 8, 1841, grad- 
uated from Dartmouth with the class of 1863, served gal- 
lantly as first lieutenant and captain of Company A, 
Fifteenth New Hampshire Regiment, during the regi- 
mental term of service : studied law with the firm of 
Stevens & Vaughan at Laconia, and at Harvard Law 
School ; was admitted to the bar in September, 1866, and 
immediately commenced practice at Gilmanton Iron 
Works. After returning to the farm he continued prac- 
tice to some extent and also became active in political 
affairs, as a Democrat, serving as school committee, repre- 
sentative, and selectman for several years. He was a 
member of Governor Weston's staft' in 187 1, and repre- 
sented his district in the state senate in 1878. In 1886 
he was the Democratic candidate for Governor. He was 
appointed on the board of railroad commissioners in April, 
1893, serving until lie became U. S. pension agent at 
Concord, July i, 1894, which position he now holds. 
He is also president and treasurer of the board of trustees 
of Gilmanton Academy, which notable institution his 
great-grandfather and great-uncle were instrumental in 




Col. Tho.mas Cogswell. 



144 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

founding. He is a Mason, a prominent Grand Army 
man, and a Patron of Husbandry. 

The Cogswell homestead embraces 517 measured acres, 
and has always been known as one of the best farms in 
the county, sustaining large stocks of cattle and horses, 
and producing great crops of wheat and corn as well as 
hay. Colonel Cogswell has carried out important im- 
provements in various directions, putting in a new 100-ton 
silo the past season. The barn is 120 feet in length, 
and this, and the line stable for horses, are thoroughly 
appointed, and, together with the fine old mansion, are 
abundantly supplied with running water, by means of a 
windmill, put in for the purpose. Colonel Cogswell pro- 
poses to make dairying his leading farm industry, 
increasing his number of cows from 15 to 25, now that a 
creamery has been established in town, in which enter- 
prise he is a leading spirit. His hay crop is from 80 to 
100 tons per annum, and he pastures from 50 to 75 head 
of cattle for outside parties. He has reduced his stock 
of horses, but keeps a fine span for driving, a stallion, 
and a few colts. The farm work is largely done by 
oxen. 

x\lthough a lawyer, a politician, and a man of afiairs, 
Colonel Cogswell is a thorough-going, representative 
farmer; his sympathies and interests are wath the agricul- 
turists of the state, and he is an earnest champion of their 
cause on all proper occasions. 

Pie married, October 8, 1873, Florence, daughter of 
R. D. Moores of Manchester, who died Februar}^ 14, 
1892, leaving a daughter and two sons. The daughter, 
Anna M., married Walter J. Edgerly of Gilmanton. 
Thomas, the elder son, entered Dartmouth College class 
of '99. Clarence Noyes, the younger, is employed in 
the wholesale boot and shoe establishment of Parker, 
Holmes & Co., Boston. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. I45 

NORWAY HILL FARM— HANCOCK, 
C. H. Duncan, Proprietor. 

Hancock is a rugged upland town, with varied and 
beautiful scenery, and generally rough though productive 
soil. Among the most prosperous farmers in this town is 
Cristy H. Duncan, proprietor of "Norway Hill Farm," 
located on the westerly slope of Norway Hill, the farm 
buildings being about half a mile from the village, and 
commanding a beautiful landscape view. Near the sum- 
mit of the hill Mr. Duncan's great grandfather. Deacon 
James Duncan, one of the pioneer settlers of the town, 
originally located, and the family home has ever since 
been in this locality. His father, John Duncan, who 
married iYlmira Chandler, bought the present home 
place — the nucleus of Norway Hill farm, — forty-two years 
ago, and here Cristy H. Duncan was born, February 29, 
1856, receiving his education in the town schools. 

Mr. Duncan early developed a fondness for dealing in 
cattle, and at twenty-one, and for five years after, was 
extensively engaged in purchasing stock in the lower 
towns in the spring, bringing the same to the rich pas- 
tures of Hancock and vicinity tor the summer, and selling 
again in the fall. December 11, 1878, he was united in 
marriage with Miss Helen C. Walker, an educated and 
accomplished young lady, and successful teacher, of 
Leominster, Mass., who has proved a most helpful and 
sympathetic companion. About sixteen 3'ears ago he 
bought a small place of some fifteen acres in extent, 
adjacent to the home farm, and began active operations 
In agriculture, making thorough improvement of the soil 
his object. He has continued on that line to the present 
time, adding to his possessions now and then, till his 
present holdings embrace two hundred acres of land in- 
cluding his original home which became his own resi- 
10 




u 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. I47 

dence after the death of his mother in 1894, his father 
now residinfj with him. 

He has extensively improved the buildings and has one 
of the best appointed barns to be found in the state. It 
is what is known as a " double-decker," the hay and 
fodder going in on the upper floor and no pitching up 
being required. The stables are thoroughly arranged 
for the comfort of the animals, and furnished with the 
Buckley watering device. The hay production is about 
sixty tons per annum, secured from forty acres of mow- 
ing land. This is supplemented with oats and other crops. 

For a time Mr. Duncan took considerable interest in 
stock breeding, devoting special attention to Swiss cattle, 
but dairying and the boarding of horses now command 
his principal attention. He keeps about twenty cows, 
selling milk to village customers, and the balance at the 
cars, to Whiting, and has fifteen or twenty horses usually 
in charge. The farm has a good supply of fruit, with 
three hundred apple trees in good condition. 

Mr. Duncan has been a member of John Hancock 
Grange for more than twenty years. He is a director 
of the Grange State Fair Association, and has long taken 
an interest in agricultural exhibitions : was a director of 
the Oak Park Fair Association, during its existence, and 
subsequently a moving spirit in the Hancock town fair 
organization. He was also one of the projectors and, for 
j?ome time, a director of the Peterborough creamery. 
Politically Mr. Duncan is a Republican and has held 
various offices in town. He is a member of the Con- 
gregational church, has been superintendent of the 
Sunday-school and clerk and treasurer of the society. 
He is engaged considerably in probate business and is a 
correspondent for various papers. As a citizen he is 
public spirited, and actively instrumental in promoting the 
welfare of the town, in erecting dwellings and in other 



148 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

directions', "progress" being his motto in all things. 
Mr. and Mrs. Duncan have three daughters, aged re- 
spectively 15, 13, and 10 years. The family are all 
musical, with a taste for literature also, and their home 
life is exceedingly pleasant. 



EDWARD BRYANT, 

CORNISH, 

Edward Bryant owns one of the best farms in the town 
of Cornish, It is situated on the western slope of the 
Cornish hills, and is one of the most picturesque spots in 
the Connecticut River valley, commanding magnificent 
views up and down the river, while in the west, the 
towering form of Ascutney mountain makes a splendid 
background. Several New York, Boston, and Phil- 
adelphia people have been so impressed with the beauties 
of this region that they have erected summer residences 
and spend several months here each year. Mr. Br3'ant 
has sold several parcels of land to them on which to build, 
and each year it becomes more popular. 

Mr. Bryant was born on this farm which has been in 
the family more than sixty years. It contains about two 
hundred and fifty acres, and is three miles from the 
Windsor bridge. It is well timbered and watered. The 
buildings consist of the dwelling house, five barns, and 
two lean-tos at the home place, and two barns on what 
is known as the upper place. Mr. Bryant is a well 
known horse and cattle raiser, one of his horses having 
trotted in 2 : 36 over Dover track. His cattle are mostly 
Jerseys and he averages to send three hundred pounds of 
milk to the Hillside creamery every day in the year. 
Mr. Bryant is a model New England farmer, and has 
made a success, and is classed among the heaviest tax- 
payers in town. His post-office address is Windsor, Vt. 



PERSONAL AND PARM SKETCHES. 



149 



SAMUEL S. WHITE, 

Sullivan. 

Sullivan is one of the small rural towns of Cheshire 
county, its population being almost entirely devoted to 
agricultural pursuits, and including in their numbers a 
fair proportion of thrift}^ and prosperous farmers who rank 
among the substantial citizens of the county. One of the 
best known of these is Samuel S. White, a son of George 

and Lavina (Ellis) 
White, who was born 
Sept. 18, 1850, on the 
farm which he now 
occupies and which 
has been in possession 
of the family since its 
original settlement- 
Mr. White was ed- 
ucated in the public 
schools of the town, 
and at Springfield, 
Vt., and has always 
had his home in Sul- 
livan. Sept. 18, 1873, 
he was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Fran- 
ces A. Locke, daugh- 
ter of John Locke of Sullivan. They have one son, 
Winfred J. Another son, Charles E., died at the age of 
three years. 

The farm embraces about four hundred acres of land 
altogether, about fifty acres in mowing and tillage and 
the balance in pasture and woodland. The hay crop 
averages from fifty to sixty tons per annum, and several 
acres of corn are usually planted. The stock consists 




Samuel S. White. 



150 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

of about twenty head of cattle, four horses, and thirty- 
five sheep. The cattle are largely cows, and milk pro- 
duction is a leading feature of the farm business, the same 
being sold to the Whitings at the station in Keene, eight 
miles distant. Another important item is the maple sugar 
product, which has amounted in some seasons to 3,000 
pounds, twelve hundred trees being tapped. There is 
also a large apple orchard on the farm, the product ot 
which reaches 1,000 bushels in good bearing years. 

Mr. White is an interested and active working member 
of the order. Patrons of Husbandry, having joined 
Ashuelot Grange, of Gilsum, in June, 1890, and given 
no little time and etibrt to promote the success of the or- 
ganization, believing it to be an effective agency for 
advancing the interests of the farmer and his familv in 
every community where it is established. He has served 
several years as chorister, has filled the stations of stew- 
ard and overseer respectively and was master for two 
terms — in 1894 '^^^ ^^95. He is also a member 01 
Cheshire County Pomona Grange ; has taken much in- 
terest in its work, and attended its sessions as generally 
as circumstances would allow. He received the seventh 
degree of the order at the session of the National Grange 
in Concord, in November, 1893. Mr. White is a Dem- 
ocrat in politics, and a member of the Congregational 
church, for which he was organist twenty years, and ten 
years superintendent of the Sunday school. 



HON. JOHN G. TALLANT, 

Pembroke. 

Among the men prominently identified with the large 
farming interests in New Hampshire is John G. Tallant, 
formerly of East Concord, now a resident of Pembroke. 



152 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



He was born Mar. 2, 1846, and is the son of the late John 
L. Tallant, of East Concord, one of the largest farmers 
and most prominent citizens of Merrimack county. 

Mr. Tallant received a good common school and 

academical education, but inherited a strong attachment 

or agriculture, and has persistently and successfully 

tollowed it, always in the front rank as a farmer, always 

ready to adopt new^ and progressive methods. 

Among the specialties of farming, he early gave his 
attention to the rear- 
ing and sale of pure 
bred Jersey cattle, in 
which line he can 
easily claim the first 
place among New 
Hampshire farmers. 
He was associated 
in the Jersey busi- 
ness for many years 
with Hon. Joseph H. 
Walker, of Worces- 
ter, Mass. Their 
celebrated Crystal 
Spring herd was 
known through- 
out the length and 
breadth of the land, 
from which sales have been made in ever}^ state in the 
Union. His skill and judgment as a dairyman was 
widely recognized, and the production of superior butter 
was a feature of his well managed farm, the excellent 
quality of which won prizes in many contests in the fairs 
throughout New England, also securing the much cov- 
eted gold medal known as the Jersev Bulletin prize. 
For many years he has been employed as an expert 




Hon. John G. Tallant. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. I53 

judge in blooded stock, dairy tests, and products, and 
many other departments in many of the fairs. He has 
been prominently identified with various agricultural 
associations. 

In 1893 he disposed of his East Concord farm, and 
bought the Albert Langmaid place, delightfully located 
on Pembroke street, and provided with one of the finest 
sets of buildings in the county, where is now his home. 

Mr. Tallant has been active in public affairs, having 
served as selectman, member of the common council, 
alderman, assessor, member of the town school commit- 
tee, representative in the legislature and state senator, 
the latter in 1891, when he was active in the organiza- 
tion of the farmers of the legislature, for the advance- 
ment of their own interests, and was first president of 
the body known as the New Hampshire Council of Agri- 
culture. In 1892 he was appointed by Governor Tuttle 
a trustee of the New Hampshire College of Agriculture 
and the Mechanic Arts, and has taken an active interest 
in the management of the institution. He was reap- 
pointed by Governor Smith, and still holds the position 
of trustee. He is prominent in the order of Patrons of 
Husbandry, and was the first master of Rumford Grange, 
holding the office for three years. In December, 1894, 
he was chosen master of Pembroke Grange, and re- 
elected the following year. He has been twice married, 
his first wife being Addie G., a daughter of the late Hon. 
Aaron Whittemore of Pembroke, whose death occurred 
October 11, 1876, and by whom he had three children. 

In December, 1877, he married Helen B. Wilson, 
daughter of Captain Daniel W. Wilson, of New Hamp- 
ton. Mrs. Tallant has ever been an enthusiastic sup- 
porter in all of her husband's interests, and he is always 
ready to accord to her good judgment and advice much 
of his well-earned success. 



154 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

FRANK E. CRAM, 

PiTTSFIELD. 

In 1768 John Cram of Hampton, N. H., came through 
the woods to what is now Pittsfield and built a saw-mill, 
and two years later he moved his family, who had been 
living in Epsom, to a new house he had built near his 
mill. This was the first settlement within the limits of 
the town. He was a man of great energy, and superior 
judgment, and to him were referred all the disputes that 
arose among the early settlers of the town, and from his 
decision it is said no appeal was ever taken. It was from 
this fact that he was widely known as " Esquire" Cram. 

Before moving into town Esquire Cram had bought one 
thousand acres of land, including that on which Pittsfield 
village stands, for ten cents per acre. He subsequently 
bought at the same price one hundred acres lying at the 
northeast corner of liis first purchase. This he gave to 
his son Tristram, who in turn gave it to his son Reuben, 
who, at his death, gave it to his 3'^oungest son, Frank E. 
Cram. This land, therefore, has never been deeded, but 
has remained in the Cram family for more than one hun- 
dred and twenty-five years. Frank E. Cram's mother 
was Miss Polly Berry, a daughter of Lieut. Thomas 
Berry, who made the famous ride in 1813 from this town 
to Portsmouth and return in seven and one half hours. 

The subject of this sketch was born on the old home- 
stead, January 7, 1847, and has always made it his home. 
He married Ida A. Young, November 24, 1870. They 
have had three children, all boys, — Natt A. Cram of 
Manchester, F. Guy, and Alroy B. who remain at 
home with their parents. 

When Mr. Cram succeeded to the ancestral homestead 
it was in the condition of many of our New Hampshire 
farms. His aged father had done what he could with 




Frank E. Cram. 



156 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

Frank's help on the farm, but the result was that the fields 
had "run out." Ere long the most casual observer could 
at once see that a new hand had taken the management 
of affairs. Fields that had been untouched for years 
were plowed, stones and bushes removed, walls rebuilt, 
and the buildings thoroughly repaired, and shade and 
fruit trees planted. Nothing was done for show, but 
everything that was done was to improve the farm — to 
make it more productive and more attractive. The result 
was that Mr. Cram was obliged to enlarge his barn and 
build several out-buildings until now he has one of the 
largest and most productive farms in this section of the 
state. 

Of course a man with such energy and good judgment, 
could not remain unnoticed by his townsmen, and many 
times he has been called upon to fill public offices. This 
he has done not only with credit to himself, but to the 
entire satisfaction of his constituents. He was tax col- 
lector two years, selectman three years, road agent two 
years, representative in 1887, and was elected county 
commissioner in 1892, receiving the largest vote ever cast 
in Pittsfield for a candidate for any office, his vote stand- 
ing 399, to 149 for his opponent. 

In his farming operations in which he has been so suc- 
cessful he has always believed in using the best — the best 
tools, the best seeds, and the best fertilizers ; consequently 
he gets the best crops that his land can produce. It is 
a pleasure to visit his farm and look over his growing- 
crops in summer, to see his bountiful harvest in autumn, 
or to examine his sleek animals in winter. 

Mr. Cram belongs to the Red Men, the Knights of 
Pythias, the I. O. O. F., and the Patrons of Husbandry. 
In the last order he takes great interest ; in fact it was 
through his exertions that the grange in Pittsfield was 
effectually revived in the spring of 1896. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



157 



HERBERT L. BROWN, 

Canterbury. 

New Hampshire is rightly named the Switzerland of 
America, with its lofty mountains and beautiful valleys, 
through one of which flows the Merrimack river, on 
whose banks is situated, opposite the beautiful village of 
Boscawen, the farm of Herbert L. Brown of Canterbury, 
one of the thrifty young farmers and Patrons of Merri- 
mack county. 

Mr. Brown is a native of the town in which he resides, 

born March 20, 1867, 
the only child of Albert 
and Ellen (Leighton) 
Brown. His father is 
a native of Northfield, 
and the eldest son of 
Samuel B. Brown, who, 
with his father, Abram, 
were among the most 
prominent men of their 
day in the community. 
His mother is a native 
of Franklin, and the 
only child of Thomas 
and Eliza (Sanborn) 
Leighton, being a de- 
scendant of the Cloughs 
and Fosters, two prom- 
inent families, Abial Foster being the lirst representative 
to congress from New^; Hampshire, and several times 
returned to that body. Three of his ancestors were in 
the Revolutionary War, and one in the War of 181 2, 
while his father was a soldier in the late Civil War. 
Mr. Brown believes in the policy of mixed farming. 




Herbert L. Brown. 



158 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

regarding it as safer and more profitable than to devote 
all his time and efforts to a single branch. The farm 
consists of three hundred acres of land, fifty being natural 
mowing, and cuts eighty tons of hay. In 1895 he raised 
seven hundred bushels of corn. He keeps from twenty 
to twenty-five cows, and sells the milk tor the Boston 
market. He has been quite successful in raising and 
training colts, among them Homer Wilkes, 2.29; Speed- 
well, 2.18, and a large number of fine road horses. 

Mr. Brown is a member of Ezekiel Webster Grange 
No. 94 of Boscawen, and has filled many of the chairs, 
being overseer four years, and master in i895-'96. He 
was also elected assistant steward of Merrimack County 
Pomona Grange No. 3 in December, 1895. In politics 
he is a Democrat, and has been two years a member of 
the Canterbury board of selectmen. He is interested in 
the temperance cause, being chief templar of Boscawen 
Lodge of Good Templars No. 127, and is always ready 
to aid in any good cause or undertaking. 



WARREN TRIPP, 

Epsom. 

The town of Epsom is almost wholly an agricultural 
community, embracing no considerable village, and no 
manufacturing industries of any magnitude within its 
limits. The leading farmer of this town is Warren Tripp, 
who occupies the old homestead within a mile of the rail- 
way station at Short Falls, originally settled by his great- 
grandfather, Richard Tripp, who had previously come 
from Portsmouth to the north part of the town, and who 
married Ann, sister of the gallant Major Andrew McClary, 
of Epsom, who was killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill. 
His grandfather, John Tripp, passed his lite upon this 




Warren Tripp 



l6o NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

farm, as did his father, Jeremiah, whose wife was Chloe 
Prescott, and who died in 1884, ten years after her 
decease. 

Mr. Tripp was born October 16, 1839, being one of a 
family of six children, of whom himself and a sister, 
now Mrs. J. L. Prescott of North Berwick, Me., are sur- 
vivors. He grew to manhood on the farm, and it has 
always been his abiding place. June 8, 1862, he married 
Katie M. Bickford of Epsom. Two children were born 
to them, Florus W., a promising young man who met an 
untimely death by accident in 1894, and Annie M., who 
married Blanchard H. Fowler of Epsom, and remains at 
home, Mr. Fowler being in charge of the farm work dur- 
ing the frequent and continued absence of his father-in- 
law, who for some years past has been extensively engaged 
in lumbering in company with Hon. James B. Tennant of 
Epsom, the firm operating mills in Hillsborough and Hen- 
niker, and, previous to 1895, in Moretown, Vt., their exten- 
sive plant in the latter place being then destroyed by fire. 
For a number of years in early manhood, previous to 
engaging in the lumber business, Mr. Tripp did a large 
business in the purchase and sale of cattle, often handling 
2,000 head per annum or more. 

The original homestead embraces about 100 acres of 
land, of which about fifty acres is mowing and tillage, 
but Mr. Tripp has other farms andoutlands, to the extent of 
some 400 or 500 acres, besides his joint interest in several 
hundred acres more, owned with Mr. Tennant. He win- 
tered the past season, 33 head of neat cattle, and eight 
horses, the former stock being mostly grade Holsteins. 
The milk from twenty cows goes to the Short Falls 
creamery, a cooperative concern which Mr. Tripp was 
largely instrumental in establishing, and w^hich has 
proved of great advantage to the farmers of the Suncook 
valley. The stock and forage are accommodated by a 



l62 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICUI>TURE. 

spacious barn, 38x91 feet, and another for horses, 36 x 40, 
recently erected. There are two silos of 60 tons' capacit}- 
each, in which are stored the product of eight or ten 
acres of corn, after the ears are picked therefrom. The 
soil of the home farm is of excellent quality, it being 
largely a high intervale, free from stones and easy of 
cultivation. Its productive capacity has been greatly 
increased under Mr. Tripp's management, and the best 
improved modern machinery is brought into use in all 
departments. 

Politically Mr. Tripp is a Democrat. He has served 
as selectman, collector and treasurer of the town, and 
was the candidate of his party for state senator in 1894. 
He was a charter member and first vice-grand of Ever- 
green lodge, I. O. O. F., of Short Falls; was subse- 
quently noble grand, and has almost constantly held some 
office in the lodge. He is also a member of the Masonic 
fraternity, of Jewell lodge and Hiram chapter, Suncook, 
and of Mt. Horeb Commandery, Concord. He was the 
tirst master of McClary Grange, of Epsom, subsequently 
twice elected to the same office, and always deeply inter- 
ested in the welfare of the order, as well as in that of the 
Granp-e State Fair Association, of which he was presi- 
dent in 1892 and 1893, and has since been general 
superintendent. 

JOHN W. FARR, 

Littleton. 

Three miles, northwesterly, from the thriving village 
of Littleton, in the hill region of the town, is "Maple- 
wood farm," whose owner, John W. Farr, has long been 
well known among the farmers of northern New Hamp- 
shire, and also prominent in grange circles. This is the 
original homestead, settled in 1802 by Ebenezer Farr, of 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



l6' 



Chesterfield, to whose son Joseph it descended. John 
Wilder Farr, son of Joseph and Betsey (Dantbrth) Farr, 
was born on the farm, May 26, 1826, and has spent his 
entire life here, with the exception often years devoted 
to railroading in Massachusetts, New York, and Ontario, 
being engaged the last four years of that time in charge 
of track laying on the Great Western Railroad. In 1857 
he returned to Littleton, took charge of the farm, and 

has since successfull}' 
pursued the agricul- 
tural calling. There 
are one hundred and 
seventy-five acres of 
land, of which about 
fift}' acres is mowing 
and tillage. The soil 
is hard and rugged, 
but yields to thorough 
cultivation and pro- 
duces good crops. The 
annual hay product is 
about thirty-five tons, 
which is supplement- 
ed by oats and corn. 
Mixed farming is fol- 
lowed, but dairying is a leading feature, the butter from 
eight or ten cows, mostly grade Jerseys, being generally 
sold to private customers. Mrs. Farr's reputation as a 
butter-maker is first-class, her butter having commanded 
first premiums at state and local fairs, and her exhibit at 
the World's Fair, Chicago, in 1893, having been award- 
ed a medal and diploma for excellence, the score being 
one of the highest attainable. Formerly Mr. Farr made 
a good deal of maple sugar, of superior quality, and re- 
ceived premiums upon the same at various exhibitions. 




John W. I-akiv. 



164 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

Mr. Farr first married Eliza D. Phelps, of Merritton, 
Ont., who died in 1861, leaving two daughters, Etta P. 
and Nellie E., of whom the latter, now a trained nurse, 
only survives. His present wife was Miss Alwilda P. 
Lane, of Lancaster, with whom he was united December 
29, 1863, and by whom he has had four children, one 
dying in infancy. Edward C, the eldest son, is a farmer 
in the town of Orange ; Mira L. is a teacher in Littleton, 
and, as well as the youngest son, John W. Farr., Jr., 
resides at home. 

White Mountain Grange, Littleton, was organized in 
1875, and Mr. Farr was one of the charter members. 
He has served seven years as overseer and five years as 
master, and has been a faithtul and devoted member of 
the subordinate and state granges, having been four 
years a member of the executive committee in the latter 
body. He was a charter member of Northern New 
Hampshire Pomona Grange, and its chaplain in 1896. 

Mr. Farr was a member of the advisory council of the 
World's Congress Auxiliary, on Farm Culture and Cereal 
Industry, at Chicago in 1893, and has been vice-presi- 
dent of tlie New Hampshire Horticultural Society since 
its organization, being an extensive and successful fruit 
grower. He has also been a director and one of the 
executive committee of the Grafton and Coos Grange 
Fair Association, and a director of the Grange State 
Fair. He is a Congregationalist in religion and a 
Republican in politics, and was one of the representa- 
tives from Littleton in the legislature of i895-'96, serv- 
ing on the committee on agricultural college and as 
chairman of the committee on retrenchment and reform. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 165 

HON. NEHEMIAH G. ORDWAY, 
Warner. 

Few names are more generally known in New Hamp- 
shire than that of Nehemiah G. Ordway, his prominence 
in public lite tor many years having brought him con- 
spicuously before the people. It may not be so generally 
known, however, that Mr. Ordway was reared as a 
farmer, and that interest in agricultural matters has never 
ceased to hold a conspicuous place among the controlling 
forces of his nature. 

Mr. Ordway was born in what is now the north vil- 
lage at Warner, November 10, 1828, being the son of 
Nehemiah and Mar\' (Flanders) Ordway. His father 
was a farmer, and his mother the daughter of Isaiah 
Flanders, who was also the owner of a large farm, in 
which was included a large share of tlie territory now 
occupied by Warner village. At the age of eleven years 
voung Ordway went to live with his Grandfather Flan- 
ders, and, possessed of an, active mind and strong and 
rapidly developed physical powers, he became at once 
the controlling spirit on the farm, continuing its manage- 
ment during his grandfather's lifetime, and still owning 
the major portion thereof, which he received at the lat- 
ter's decease. October 9, 1848, when scarcely twent}' 
years of age, he married Nancy Ann, daughter of Daniel 
Bean, a prominent citizen of Warner, who was the pro- 
prietor of a large farm and who built and operated the 
mills near the present "Waterloo" station, otherwise 
known as "Bean's Mills." This property has since come 
into his possession, and here has been his summer home 
for years, the place being known as " Riverside Farm." 
Altogether Colonel Ordway has about 500 acres of land 
stretching for some two miles along the course of the 
Warner river, and including " River Bow park," which 



l66 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

he originally fitted up for his own private use in training 
horses, of which he has been an enthusiastic breeder. 
The "Honest Allen" stock has been his favorite, though 
he has raised fine horses of various strains. He has at 
present about fifteen horses and colts, including a num- 
ber of superior qualities. 

It is of course out of the question in this connection to 
give a detailed account of the career of Colonel Ordway, 
who though reared as a New Hampshire farmer, and 
continuing his direct personal interest in the agriculture 
of the state, has been, in the broadest sense of the term, 
a man of affairs, engaging actively in political and busi- 
ness life and conducting operations upon the broadest 
scale. Suffice it to say that before attaining his majority 
he engaged in mercantile business at Warner, building a 
store for his own occupancy, while at the same time 
executing a contract for grading and building the rail- 
road through that town. He continued in business here 
for several years, taking an active part in town affairs. 
He served as sergeant-at-arms of the N. H. house ot 
representatives in 1855, ^s assistant clerk in 1856, and 
at the close of that session was appointed sheriff' of Mer- 
rimack county for five years by Gov. Haile, removing 
for the timq to Concord, where he also served as city 
marshal and collector of taxes for some time. Originally 
a Douglas Democrat he became a Republican upon the 
organization of that part^^ and was for many 3'ears 
intimately associated with the late Edward H. Rollins 
and William E. Chandler in the management of party 
affairs. He was chairman of the Republican state com- 
mittee in the Lincoln campaign of i860. As chief 
marshal of the "Wide Awakes " in that campaign he 
took 10,000 men from this state to the great Wide Awake 
demonstration in Boston. At the outbreak of the Rebel- 
lion, while still sheriff' of the county, his services were 




Hon. Nehemiah G. Ordway. 



l68 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

called in requisition by the governor, who commissioned 
him as colonel, for making arrangements to forward to 
the front the first regiments raised in the state. 

Appointed by President Lincoln general agent of the 
post-office department, and superintendent of mail trans- 
portation for the New England states, he fulfilled the 
arduous duties of his position from the spring of 1861, 
till December, 1862, when he resigned to accept the 
office of sergeant-at-arms of the national house of repre- 
sentatives at Washington, to which he was chosen at the 
opening of the Thirty-eighth congress, and re-elected for 
five successive congresses or a term of twelve years in 
all, becommg personally acquainted with 1,200 repre- 
sentatives and senators. 

Meanwhile he took an active interest in public affairs 
in the District of Columbia, and also in business opera- 
tions. He was the organizer and one of the principal 
stockholders of the Washington Market company which 
erected and owns the mac^nificent Center market in that 
city — the largest and best appointed retail market in the 
world. He still retains his connection with this company, 
ot which he has long been president, and has his winter 
residence in Washington though returning to New Hamp- 
shire at the close of the Forty-ninth congress in the 
spring of 1875, when he was elected a representative to 
the state legislature from Warner, being the first Repub- 
lican sent from that town. He was re-elected in 1876 
and 1877, was a delegate in the constitutional convention 
of 1876, and a state senator from the Warner district in 
1879. H^ ^^^ ^ prominent figure in the legislature dur- 
ing his service, and was particularly identified with the 
movement in the interest of tax reform, effecting practi- 
cal results in that direction. 

In May, 1880, Colonel Ordway was appointed by 
President Hayes, governor of the territory of Dakota, 



170 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

from which two great states were subsequently erected, 
which office he held upwards of four years, during which 
time he was actively engaged, aside from the ordinary 
governmental affairs, in superintending the erection of 
nearly all the important public buildings, including the 
state house at Bismarck, and penitentiaries, asylums, 
universities, and normal schools, at diff"erent places. Most 
of the counties were also organized during his administra- 
tion. He established the First National bank at Pierre, 
and subsequently the Capital National bank at Bismarck, 
and was the first president of each, having previoush' had 
experience in the organization and management of the 
Kearsarge National and Savings banks in Warner. His 
labors, public and private, while in Dakota, were so 
arduous, that his health was much impaired, and since 
his return he has been compelled to curtail his activities 
to a large extent, and close up important business enter- 
prises in which he had been engaged, although he retains 
his deep interest in public affairs and in the cause of 
agriculture. He spends his summers at his wife's ances- 
tral home at Waterloo, personally superintending his 
farm and other interests, and his winters in Washington. 
He still retains an interest in Dakota, and owns a resi- 
dence in Bismarck, the capital of North Dakota, as well 
as in Washington. 

Colonel Ordway has always been deeply interested 
in agricultural fairs, and was associated with Governor 
Smyth in the financial management of the first'State fair 
held at Manchester. He was instrumental in establish- 
ing the old Kearsarge Agricultural society for whose 
annual fairs he furnished accommodations at his finely 
equipped "River Bow park," and initiated the move- 
ment for the organization of the Merrimack County 
Grange fair held on the same grounds the past two 
years, in the success of which exhibition he has taken a 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. I7I 

deep interest, and for which he expended much time and 
money. 

In religion, Colonel Ordway tbrmerly affiliated with the 
Universalists, but in war-time in Washington became a 
strong admirer and adherent of Rev. Dr. Byron Sunder- 
land of the First Presbyterian church, where he has since 
retained his connection. He is a thirty-second degree 
Mason and Knight Templar, a member of the Warner 
and Merrimack County Pomona granges, and associated 
with various important business organizations in different 
places. 

Colonel Ordway has three children, — Mabel, wife of 
Colonel E. L. Whitford, former U. S. pension agent for 
this district ; Colonel George L. Ordway, who married 
a niece of the late Vice-President Colfax, and who now 
is an attorney at Warner ; and Florence, wife of Frank 
G. Wilkins, attorney-at-law and auditor of the Washing- 
ton Market company, — all of whom with their families 
spend the summer in their separate homes in Warner. 



EZRA B. ROGERS, 

Jefferson. 

Ezra B. Rogers was born in Jackson, N. H., December 
22, 1832. He received a common school education, and 
went to Gorham in 1852, where he remained seven years. 
He then married Miss Lucy Tucker, of Clinton county, 
New York, and removed to Whitefield, where he lived 
nine years, engaged in agriculture. Here, as in Gor- 
ham, he won many friends. In 1868 he bought a good 
farm near the "old Whipple stand," at Jefferson Mead- 
ows, where he died April 13, 1892. A widow and two 
sons survive him. 



172 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICUI>TURE. 



Mr. Rogers, politically, was a Democrat. In princi- 
ple he was as unflinching as his illustrious ancestors. 
Quiet and unassuming as he was, his friends soon learned 
his worth, and in a public capacity he served them many 
years. He was elected one of the selectmen several 
times in Whitefield, and served Jefferson as such twelve 
years. He was town treasurer seven years, and repre- 
sented his town in the legislature in i874-'75. He was 
a charter member of 
Starr King Grange, 
of which he was an 
honored member at 
the time of his death, 
and was an active 
zuorking member of 
the Methodist Episco- 
pal church for twen- 
ty-three years. He 
was a loving hus- 
band, a kind father, a 
good citizen, and an 
honorable man. Lov- 
ing God and loving his 
fellow-man, the world 
is better because he 
lived in it. 




Ezra B. Rogers. 



" Life is ever Lord of death, 
And Love can never lose its own." 



Of the two sons of Mr. Rogers, Woodbury O. is a 
resident of Norwich, Conn., where he is in the service 
of the Norwich Dyeing and Printing Company. 

The younger son, John A. Rogers, now thirty years 
of age, remains on the homestead in Jefferson, and is a 
prosperous and enterprising farmer. The farm is ot 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 1 73 

about two hundred acres in extent. The hay crop 
amounts to about sixty tons annually, and in 1896 some 
five hundred bushels of oats were harvested. Dairying 
is pursued quite extensively, about twenty-five cows and 
heifers being kept. Mr. Rogers is a member of the 
board of selectmen in Jefferson, a Patron of Husbandry, 
and was chosen master of Starr King Grange in Decem- 
ber, 1895. 



HON. JONATHAN M. TAYLOR, 

Sanbornton. 

The old town of Sanbornton was not only among the 
largest in the state territorially, but, in former years, 
among the wealthiest and most populous. It was also 
then, as now, a superior agricultural town. Among its 
early settlers was Jonathan Taylor, who moved with his 
father from the town of Stratham, and settled upon Lot 
No. 9, in the Second Division, in 1773. This has been 
the Taylor homestead, descending to Thomas, the son 
of this Jonathan Taylor, who married Sarah E. Jewett, 
by whom he had a large family, the sixth son, Jonathan 
M. Taylor, the subject of this sketch, having been born 
September 21, 1822. 

Aware that he had his own wav to make in the world, 
and not being endowed with vigorous health and strength, 
Mr. Taylor left home at an early age, after some attend- 
ance at the district schools and the Sanbornton Wood- 
man academy, to learn the trade of a blacksmith, and, 
having acquired the same, he set up a stand for that 
business at Sanbornton Square, where he established his 
home, and has since remained, diligentl}^ pursuing his 
vocation tor more than fifty years, and at tiie same time 
taking an active part in all the business affairs of the 



174 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



town, and winning and retaining the fullest confidence 
and highest regard of his fellow-citizens. 

With an inherent love of agriculture, Mr. Taylor 
began early to acquire and cultivate land as an incidental 
pursuit, as a matter of health, recreation, and profit, till he 
now owns about one hundred acres altogether, covered 
by thirteen deeds, of which about sixteen acres in the 
vicinity of his residence are devoted to mowing and till- 
age. This land is in 
a high state of culti- 
vation, producing two 
tons of hay, or more, 
per acre as a first 
crop, while a large 
second crop is usually 
secured. He has taken 
special pride in rais- 
ing and training fine 
steers, his cattle being 
generally high-grade 
Herefords, and he has 
been a most success- 
ful exhibitor at state 
and local fairs both in 
this line and in dair}' 




Hon. Jonathan M. Tavlok. 



cows, as well as vegetables, in the production of which he 
has had remarkable success. In illustration, it may be 
said that on a plat of less than twenty square rods, in 
1895, he raised two hundred and twenty-five bushels of 
beets, and, on a still smaller plat, one hundred and 
twelve bushels of carrots. His corn also has been widely 
noted for years for its excellence, it being a beautiful 
eight-rowed variety, improved from the original " Brown" 
corn of Lake Winnipiseogee. He has won many premi- 
ums on this, and received a medal and diploma for an 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. I75 

exhibit of the same at the Chicago World's fair, in con- 
nection with which exhibition he had an appointment as 
a representative from Belknap county in the World's 
congress of agriculture. His home is a commodious 
farmhouse, and in 1879 ^^^ erected a fine modern barn. 

Mr. Taylor was a charter member and first master of 
Harmony grange, Sanbornton, which at the end of two 
years had one hundred and seventy-one members. As 
a deputy of the State grange he was instrumental in 
organizing most of the subordinate granges of Belknap 
county, and also effecting in 1887, the organization of 
the Belknap Pomona grange, of which he was master in 
1894 and 1895, it having then attained a membership of 
over nine hundred — the largest in the state. In 1885, 
he was elected treasurer of the State grange, efficiently 
discharging the duties of the office to the present time. 
For several years he was treasurer of the Grange State 
Fair association, which he was active in organizing as he 
had also been in organizing the Belknap County Agri- 
cultural society, of which he was for two years president. 
He was a director and vice-president of the Grange 
Mutual Fire Insurance company, and also a director and 
president of the Sanbornton Fire Insurance company, 
organized in 187 1, largely by his influence, as was also 
the Sanbornton Town Fair association. 

In politics Mr. Taylor is a Democrat, and was for more 
than forty years chairman of the Democratic town com- 
mittee. He has served his town repeatedly as modera- 
tor, was for seventeen years town clerk, and has been 
postmaster, representative, and county commissioner, 
serving also in 1869, by special appointment, as chair- 
man of the joint board of commissioners of Belknap and 
Grafton counties, in the trial of the noted bridge case of 
Daniel Smith v. towns of New Hampton and Bristol. 
When the movement for the division of Sanbornton and 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 1 77 

the erection of the town of Tihon was inaugurated in 
1869, Mr. Taylor was instrumental in causing a 
remonstrance to be entered against tiie division on the 
petition presented, deteating the petition and subse- 
quenth' settling the matter by a compromise, much more 
advantageous in its terms to the old town than the origi- 
nal proposition. He was town clerk at this time, and 
upon the division was chosen chairman of the Sanborn- 
ton board of selectmen and town treasurer, $109,000 
passing througli iiis hands in three months during the 
settlement of affairs between the old and new towns. 
He was senator from the Fifth district in i883-'84, and 
Democratic candidate for councilor in the Third district 
against Colonels E. C. Shirle}^ and John C. Linehan, 
defeating an election in each case and his opponents 
being chosen by the legislature. On the occasion of the 
Sanbornton centennial celebration in 1876, Mr. Taylor 
acted as president and chief marshal. 

November 19, 1846, he was united in marriage with 
Miss Huldah Lane, daughter of Joseph H. Lane of San- 
bornton, who was his true and faithful helpmeet until her 
decease, April 22, 1890. Their three children, all 
daughters, became thorough and successful teachers. 
Sarah, the eldest, is the wife of Rev. G. W. Patten of 
Dublin ; the second, Carrie P., is now at home with her 
father; and Mary H., the youngest, is the wife of H. J. 
L. Bodwell of Sanbornton. 

Mr. Ta3'lor is a member of the Congregational church, 
was eleven years superintendent of the Sunday-school, 
and has been treasurer of the Congregational Fund asso- 
ciation since 1878. 
12 



178 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 






WARREN J. FISHER, 
Haverhill. 

Among the numerous farms bordering on the Connect- 
icut river in the town of Haverhill there are few, if any, 
that bear evidence of better cultivation or surpass in gen- 
eral appearance the Fisher homestead, located two miles 
north of the village of North Haverhill on the highway 
leading to Woodsville, the county seat of Grafton county. 

Warren J. Fisher, the proprietor, comes of a family 
well known in the an- 
nals of New England 
He was born at Spring- 
field, N. H., in 1830: 
a son of Deacon Seth 
and Polly (Stone) Fish- 
er. He received an 
education in the com- 
mon schools of Spring- 
field, and removed to 
Haverhill in the fall of 
185 1, where he was 
engaged in railroad- 
ing and bridge build- 
ing for the Boston, 
Concord & Montreal 
Railroad until 1858, 
when he purchased 
the farm upon which he now resides. It contains one 
hundred and fifty acres, fifty being under cultivation, and 
the remainder for the most part heavily timbered. From 
i860 to 1875 M^- Fisher was an extensive feeder of 
cattle and sheep for market, but of late has been engaged 
in mixed farming. 

He is a charter member of Pink Granite Grange, and 




Warren J. Fisher. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 1 79 

has always taken an active part in that organization. As 
one of the successful and thrifty farmers of the town, 
Mr. Fisher attends the prominent agricultural meetings 
of this and otlier states, at the present writing having just 
returned from the New York state fair, where he has been 
refreshing his ideas of husbandry. Politically he is a 
Republican, and representing the best element of his 
party, was justice of the peace for many years. 

In 1858 Mr. Fisher was united in marriage to Harriet 
N. Morse of Haverhill, who died in 1872. Five vears 
later he married Louisa H. Bedell of Bath, N. H., his 
present wife, and sister of the late Gen. John Bedell. 



WILLIAM H. RYDER, 

Bedford. 

Among the most thoughtful, practical, and progressive 
young farmers in Hillsborough county, may very prop- 
erly be classed William H. Rvder of Bedford, already 
well known as a successful milk producer and market 
gardener. 

Mr. Ryder is a native of tiie town of Dunbarton, born 
March 5, 1869, being the third son of Harris E. and 
Elizabeth L. (Kimball) Ryder, both parents tracing 
their ancestry back through three centuries. His lather 
was the owner of a superior farm in Dunbarton, and was 
prominent in public aflairs in that town, serving in vari- 
ous offices, and for four years as chairman of the board 
of selectmen ; but on account of the destruction of his 
buildings by fire, in 1875, he removed to Manchester, 
where he remained hve years, the son in the meantime 
enjoying the benefit of the excellent public schools of the 
city. In 1880, the family removed to the town of Bed- 
lord, and again engaged in agriculture ; but William H., 



I So 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



having acquired a taste for city life, sought and obtained 
a position in the Mirror office at Manchester in 1885, 
with a view to the printer's trade, and in a short time had 
charge of the engine and boilers and the running of the 
daily press. In October, 1888, he became foreman of 
the press room in the Manchester Telegram establish- 
ment, and continued a year and a iialt^ when he left the 
business and entered the employ of the Nashua Provi- 
sion company in Nashua, in the beef trade. Here he re- 
mained until August, 
1890, when he went 
to Boston and was en- 
gaged with John P. 
Squire & Co., but was 
called home by the ill- 
ness of his father in 
October Ibllowing. He 
had now, in fact, all 
he cared for of the 
city, and concluded to 
settle down at home 
and commence farm 
life in earnest, which 
he did with a deter- 
mination to thorough- 
ly master the business 
along the lines of operation selected — milk production 
and gardening. He has now a dairy of twenty-two 
choice cows, every one carefully selected with reference 
to her milk-producing qualities, and the product goes to 
tiie Boston market, while his garden produce is mainl}^ 
disposed of in Manchester. He has recentl}^ increased 
his acreage by leasing an adjoining farm for a term of 
years, and proposes a corresponding increase in his 
dairv- His cows receive the best of care — are fed on 




William H. Rvoer. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. ibl 

scientific principles, and have a supply of pure water 
constantly before them, furnished by windmill power. 

Mr. R3^der is an enthusiastic Patron of Husbandry, 
having joined Narragansett grange, Bedford, in 1884. 
He was elected overseer for 1894, and 1895, and master 
for 1896. He was also steward of Hillsborough County 
Pomona grange in 1895, and overseer in 1896, and has 
taken a strong interest in the success of this organization, 
taking an active part in discussions. He was appointed 
a district deputy by State Master Bachelder in 1896, and 
organized two new granges during the year — Naum- 
keag. No. 241, of Litchfield, and Pelham, No. 244, both 
under most favorable auspices. 

Mr. Ryder is a Republican in politics and was elected 
supervisor by his town in 1894. ^^ '^ married and has 
a son four years of age. 



HON. MANSON S. BROWN, 
Plymouth. 

The north-bound traveler, on approaching the charm- 
ing village of Plymouth, over the old Boston, Concord 
& Montreal Railroad, now a part of the Boston & Maine 
system, is struck by the beautiful appearance of the 
broad Pemigewasset valley intervales, below the village, 
whose fertile acres, in summer time, laden with fine crops 
of grass and corn, are a special delight to the eye of the 
practical agriculturist. Overlooking the lower intervales, 
upon the hillside at the left, is a spacious set of farm- 
buildings, including a roomy, old style mansion, one of 
the largest and best arranged barns in the country, and 
all necessary outbuildings. This was formerl}' known 
as the "Judge Blair place," having been long owned 
and occupied by the late Hon. Walter Blair, but now 




Hon. iMaxsox S. Browx. 



PERSONAL AND p-ARM SKETCHES. 183 

and for the past fifteen years the home of that well-known 
and popular citizen, extensive farmer, and active man of 
affairs, Hon. Manson S. Brown. 

Mr. Brown is a native of the town of Bridgewater, a 
son of James and Judith (Harron) Brown, born Novem- 
ber 30, 1835. I^^s early life was passed in farm labor, 
with such educational advantages as he was able to 
secure at the district school and a brief attendance at 
New Hampton Institution. At nineteen years of age 
he went to live with an uncle, Theophilus Ladd, who 
took much interest in his welfare, and atTorded him op- 
portunities in travel and in other directions, which he 
turned to the best possible advantage. 

In 1859, ^^ ^^^^ ^S*^ o^" twenty-three, Mr. Brown re- 
moved to Campton and engaged in business as a black- 
smith, where he remained until the summer of 1862, 
when he enlisted in the I'hirteenth Recriment N. H. 
Vols., under Col. Aaron F. Stevens. He was a skilful 
musician, and was duly promoted, until, at the fall of 
Richmond, he led the bands of the First Brigade in the 
entrance into that city, April 3, 1865, having served faith- 
fully with his regiment during its three years' campaign, 
and being wounded at Fredericksburg and Cold Harbor. 

After the close of the war, in 1865, he located in Ply- 
mouth village, where he lived until 1881, having been 
commissioned as deputy sheriff in 1868, and sheriff of 
Grafton County in 1874, ^"^ subsequently serving as 
deputy for that and other counties, under other sheriffs, 
which office he holds at the present time. 

In 1881, he established himself upon the farm which 
he now occupies, which was the property of Kimball 
Whitney, formerl}^ of Campton, whose daughter, Ann 
P. E. Whitney, Mr. Brown married. This farm, em- 
bracing several hundred acres altogether, was one of 
the first settled in the town of Plymouth, and on it was 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 185 

erected the first tVamed building in the town. It in- 
ckides about lOO acres of intervale, and cuts lOO tons of 
hay, or more, upon an average, while from ten to fifteen 
acres of corn and a considerable amount of oats are pro- 
duced. The stock consists of 40 to 50 head of cattle, 
and 15 or 20 horses. About 25 cows are kept, the milk 
from which is mostly sent to the creamery. Mr. Brown 
has one son, Manson W. H., who lives at home and 
crives his entire attention to the farm work. He married 
Miss Lottie Smith, June 25, 1896, and was a charter 
member and first Overseer of Plymouth Grange ; also a 
charter member of Lodge No. 47, Knights of Pythias. 

Mr. Brown owns another large farm and woodlands, 
and has been extensively engaged in lumbering for many 
years. Politically, he is a Republican and has been 
prominent in the councils of his party. He represented 
the Fourth District in the State Senate in the legislature 
of 1885-6, and in December, 1886, was appointed state 
liquor commissioner. In the discharge of his various 
official duties, and in his business relations, he has been 
brought extensively in contact with the public, and few 
enjoy a higher measure of personal popularity. 



CHARLES W. FAS SETT, 

Jaffrey. 

It can be very truthfully said of the subject of this 
sketch that he has been quite successful in his farming 
operations during the past few years, and has fairly 
demonstrated the fact that by industry and perseverance, 
coupled with intelligence, agriculture can be made to pay 
even in New Hampshire. 

Charles W. Fassett was born in the town of Troy, 
December 3, 1848. His parents were Joseph W. and 
Sarah A. (Putney) Fassett, who removed to Jaftre}' when 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



Charles W. was about six years of age. The only edu- 
cation he received was that derived from a few weeks' 
attendance upon the district school each year, before he 
was sixteen, supplemented by a course of study in the 
Bryant & Stratton Business College. October 5, 1876, 
he was united in marriage with Adelia P. Upton of Jaf- 
trey, daughter of Thomas and Marietta (Cutter) Upton. 
The}^ have one son, Fred. W. 

In 1878 Mr. Fassett commenced farming in Jaffrey, 
upon a leased farm. 
After a time, not tind- 
ing the situation en- 
tirely satisfactory, he 
bought a small farm 
near the beautiful little 
village of East Jaffrey, 
running in debt for the 
larger part of the price, 
and engaged in the cul- 
tivation of small fruits 
and early vegetables, 
in connection with a 
small dairy and poul- 
try raising. The sum- 
mer boarding interest 
naturally enhances the 
value of the village 

market, and, by care and diligence, Mr. Fassett has 
found his business quite remunerative, enabling him to 
nearly clear off his indebtedness and make good prog- 
ress on the highway of prosperity. 

Mr. Fassett was one of the twenty-two charter mem- 
bers of Jaffrey Grange, and was its first assistant steward, 
his wife serving at the same time as lad}' assistant. He 
has since served two years as overseer and two years as 




Charles W. Fassett. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 187 

master, and has taken a lively interest in the welfare of 
the organization. He is a member of Cheshire County 
Pomona Grange, and has taken all the degrees of the 
order. He is also active in Odd Fellowship, being a 
member of Monadnock lodge, No. 90, of Jaffrey, Rebekah 
Degree lodge, No. 71, and Union encampment, No. 6, 
Peterborough. 

In politics Mr. Fassett is a Republican. He has held 
various town offices of trust, and is now a member of the 
board of selectmen. He has always commanded the 
respect of liis fellow-citizens for his integrity and worth. 



MARCELLUS R. HODGMAN, 

Mason. 

The Hodgmans of Mason are old residents of the 
town, several generations of the family having dwelt 
within its borders. Marcellus R. Hodgman, a native 
and life-long resident of the place, an enterprising and 
progressive farmer, and highly-esteemed citizen, is the 
second son of Edwin J. and Lovina (Foster) Hodgman, 
born April 18, 1847. February 13, 1870, he was united 
in marriage with Anna E. Buttrick, daughter of Hiram N. 
and Augusta (Bennett) Buttrick of Rindge, commenc- 
ing housekeeping in the house where he was born, four 
good hands and two stout hearts being their only capital. 
In about two years they removed to another place in 
the same school district, where, two years later, on a 
cold April night, they were burned out, Mrs. Hodgman 
making her way with their two little children, shoeless, 
through the snow to the nearest neighbor's. Not even 
their clothing was saved from the flames : but still young, 
undaunted and courageous, they went back to the old 
home, and started again. 



i88 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICUI/rURE. 



Five years later Mr. Hodgman rented the farm where 
he now Hves, being then without sutlicient means to pay 
for the stock. Laboring diligently three years, he had 
sufficiently mastered the situation to feel warranted in 
purchasing the place, which he then did, and, by per- 
sistent effort, backed by good judgment in directing the 
same, he is now entirely out of debt, with a fine farm in 
good condition, the house having been thoroughly re- 
modelled, pure running water supplied for house and 
barn, and various other improvements. 

Fruit, poultry, and the dairy are leading features in 
Mr. Hodgman's farm 
operations, small truits 
receiving special atten- 
tion. He has marketed 
several hundred dol- 
lars' worth of straw- 
berries and raspberries 
per annum, and had at 
one time three hundred 
peach trees. A fine 
plum orchard has just 
come into bearing. 
Plymouth Rock fowls 
are kept exclusively as 
poultry, about 600 hens 
and chickens having 
been cared for the past 
season. With excel- 
lent care a good profit is realized. From twelve to six- 
teen head of cattle are kept, the cream from the dairy 
going to the Ashby, Mass., creamery. 

In politics Mr. Hodgman is a Republican, and has 
been honored by his party in various ways, having served 
as town and school auditor, as selectman, and as chair- 




Marcellus K. Hod(;man. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



189 



man of the board of supervisors tor the hist ten or twelve 
years. He has also taken a strong interest in school 
matters, acting as prudential committee under the old 
system and as a member of the town school board sub- 
sequently. 

Mr. and Mrs. Hodgman have two children — a daughter, 
Etta E., the wife of George E. Livingston of Greenville 
and the mother of two tine boys, and a son, Mervin E., 
who married Lilla E. Hall of Brooklyn, N. Y., in Jan- 
uary, 1896, and is associated in business with his father. 
All are active members of Fruitdale Grange, No. 106, of 
Mason, in which Mr. Hodgman has served as overseer, 
and contributes materiallv to the exercises and discussions. 



THOMAS O. TAYLOR, 

Sanbornton. 



The old Taylor homestead in Sanbornton, whereon 
five generations of the name have dwelt, — descending 



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19 


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The Taylor Hoaiestead, Sanbornton. 

from Jonathan, who came with his father, Nathan Tay- 
lor, from Stratham and settled on the place in 1773, to 



190 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



Thomas, the son of Jonathan, and to Andrew J., son of 
Thomas — is now owned and occupied by Thomas Os- 
good Taylor, son of Andrew J. and Polly (Osgood) 
Taylor, born July 28, 185 1, who was reared and has 
always had his home on the farm, receiving his educa- 
tion at the district schools and at the New Hampton 
Institution. 

Being the only son, he was associated with his father 
in the management of the farm, and thus continued after 
his marriage, January 
25, 1876, with Miss 
Cinda W. Heath of 
Bristol, and upon his 
t'ather's death, some 
six years later, the 
property passed into 
his hands. The farm, 
which is located one 
mile from Sanbornton 
Square and five miles 
from Tilton, on the 
stage road to N ew 
Hampton, contains 
about 300 acres of 
land, of which 50 acres 
is mowing and tillage, 
the amount of hay crop being about 50 tons. Mr. Tay- 
lor has a silo, but in recent years has raised Hungarian 
instead of ensilage, as a supplementary feeding crop. 
For many years Mr. Taylor and his father made the 
raising of oxen and steers a specialty, producing many 
premium cattle of the Hereford strain. Of late, dairy- 
ing has been the leading feature of his farm operations, 
the number of cows ranging from 15 to 20. He uses the 
De Laval separator, being the first in the county to adopt 




Thomas O. Taylor. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. I9I 

it, and markets his butter at Franklin. He is an enthu- 
siastic Hereford breeder, and his fine lierd took first 
money at the last Tilton and Rochester fairs, though 
coming in competition at the latter with cattle from dif- 
erent parts of New England. He also produces a con- 
siderable amount of maple syrup, being among the first 
to adopt improved methods in its manufacture, as he is 
prompt to utilize advanced ideas in all lines of agricul- 
tural work. 

Mr. Taylor was a charter member of Harmony 
Grange, Sanbornton, and its first secretary, serving five 
years. He has since been two years master, and also 
for two years master of Belknap County Pomona 
Grange. He was active in the organization of the 
State Grange Fair association, and has served as super- 
intendent of the forage and cattle departments, and also 
as general superintendent for several years, until Janu- 
ary, 1896, when he was elected treasurer of the associa- 
tion. He is also a director of the Sanbornton Town Fair 
association, and has been treasurer of the same, and a 
director of the town Fire Insurance company. 

Politically, he is a Democrat ; has served his town as 
collector of taxes and town treasurer several years, and 
has been the candidate of his party for county commis- 
sioner. He is a member of Harmony Lodge, I. O. O. F., 
of Tilton, and an attendant at the Baptist church in San- 
bornton. 



JOHN BAILEY, 

Claremont. 

Among the steady-going, thoughtful, and successful 
farmers of the first-class agricultural town of Claremont 
is John Bailey, a native of the neighboring town of 
Unity, son of Eaton and Elizabeth Wright (Sparling) 



192 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

Bailey, born June 30, 1833. Both his parents were of 
EngHsh descent, hence the persevering spirit and sturdy 
character which he has ever manifested. He attended 
the ungraded school until sixteen years of age, after 
which he pursued the study of the higher branches in 
the academies at Washington and Claremont, prepara- 
tory to a course at Dartmouth, but was forced to abandon 
the latter on account of poor health, and entered the dry- 
goods house of a brother at Claremont, where he con- 
tinued three years, but was finally compelled to abandon 
this business from the same reason that compelled the 
relinquishment of the college course. 

About this time he was united in marriage with the 
only daughter of Laban Ainsworth of Claremont, and, 
purchasing a large farm on the Connecticut river, com- 
menced farming in earnest. He studied methods care- 
fully, and determined not to turn a furrow without thor- 
ough fertilization of the soil, so as to secure the largest 
crops that the land was capable of producing, realizing, 
as he did, that the cost of producing 150 bushels of corn 
per acre is but little more than that of 75 bushels, while 
the land would thus be left capable of producing two and 
one-half tons of hav per acre instead of a ton, or a ton 
and a half. 

Mr. Bailey's present farm is situated on the Connecti- 
cut, about one mile south of Claremont Junction, and 
contains 205 acres, of which 75 acres is tillage, the bal- 
ance pasture and woodland. He cuts about 100 tons of 
English hay, and harvests from 1,000 to 1,500 bushels 
of ears of corn, and from 500 to 700 bushels of oats annu- 
ally, most of which is consumed on the farm. Since the 
experiment station at Hanover and Durham has been 
in operation, Mr. Bailey has followed closely the experi- 
ments in dairying, feeding stock, and raising crops. He 
believes that much has been reduced to science, and that 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



193 



the thinking farmer can add materially to his store of 
knowledge from the bulletins issued from the station from 
time to time. 

The New Encrland farmei' has had much to contend 
with in the last twenty years, and Mr. Bailey early began 
to fortify himself against cheap wool, mutton, beef, grain, 
etc., raised in the West, b} giving up these industries 
and going into dairying, sujjplemented by the raising of 
swine. He has kept from 20 to 40 cows, and raised and 
fattened as many hogs each year. His butter is sold at 
wholesale at 25 cents per pound the entire year. 




Ho.MK (»F John Bailey, Claremont. 



Mr. Bailey had always turned a deaf ear to all sugges- 
tions of office-holding, until the new^ school law went into 
effect, wdien, being a firm believer in all its provisions, 
he accepted a position as a member of the board of edu- 
cation. In that capacity he served two successive terms, 
during which time a new school building was erected 
and many of the old ones, in sparsely settled districts, 
abandoned, the scholars being conveyed to graded 
schools in central pomts. At the expiration of his term 
of office, he had the satisfaction of leaving the schools 
13 



194 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

much improved in method, and the standard in the inter- 
mediate and grammar grades raised materially, while 
the friction attendant upon ..he change had subsided, and 
the people became eminently satisfied with the change. 

Mr. Bailey has a son and three daughters. The son 
is a farmer in Claremont. Two married daughters 
reside in Antrim. The youngest, unmarried, is a 
teacher. In politics, he is an earnest Republican ; in 
religion, an Episcopalian, 



CLARENCE L. TROW, 

MiLFORD. 

There are some sections of the state in which the poul- 
try business is an important item of agricultural industry, 
being followed as a specialty by many persons. Per- 
haps no town makes a better showing in this line than 
Milford, where there are several men engaged in the 
business, keeping from 500 to 1,000 hens each, with 
profitable results. 

One of the most enthusiastic of these, although com- 
paratively new to the business, is Clarence L. Trow, 
formerly of Amherst, who bought a pleasantly-located 
poultry farm of ten acres, with good buildings, near the 
village, in 1894, and by diligence and care is already on 
the high road to success. He has now 500 hens, and is 
engaged in egg production mainly, poultr}"^ for market 
being mainly incidental ; but chickens for the mainte- 
nance and increase of laying stock are raised. His eggs 
are chiefly marketed in Lowell, and the poultry sold 
goes there and to Boston. 

Mr. Trow was born in Amherst, November 13, i860, 
being a son of Joseph P. and Foreno F. (Underwood) 
Trow, and had his home in that town until his removal 
to Milford. He was educated in the district school and 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



195 



at McCollom Institute, Mont Vernon, graduating from 
the classical department of the latter institution in 1879, 
with a certificate ensuring admission to Dartmouth col- 
lege, had he been disposed to pursue his studies further ; 
but he preferred farm life, and, returning home, was 
engaged with his father and brother in milk, fruit, and 
berry production, with the exception of a year or so in 

the management of a 
general country store 
in Amherst village, 
until his adoption of 
the poultry business, 
as heretofore men- 
tioned. 

Mr. Trow became 
a member of Souhe- 
gan grange, Amherst, 
(which connection he 
still retains) in 1879, 
and has served as 
Maste r two terms, 
also as Lecturer and 

Secretary. He is also 
Clarence L. Trow. . , 

an active member of 

Hillsborough County Pomona grange, and has been an 
officer in that organization. He has prepared a Grange 
column for the Farmer's Cabinet at Milford for sev- 
eral years past, and has written considerably for other 
papers. He is a member of Gustos Morum lodge, I. O. 
O. F. Politically, he is a Democrat, but, always resid- 
ing in a strong Republican town, he has not held office 
to any great extent, nor has he sought the same, though 
he served six years upon the school board in Amherst, 
as tax collector two years, and selectman one year. 
June I, 1893, Mr. Trow united in marriage with Miss 



1 j^, 







196 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICUI>TURE. 

Lucv C. Mitchell of Nashua, who makes him a happy 
home and brings congenial companionship. Both are 
members of the Congregational church, and each has 
charge of a class in the Sunday-school. 



FRED BEAN, 

Warner. 

Among the worthy and substantial citizens of the town 
of Warner, enjoying an enviable reputation alike in busi- 
ness and agricultural circles, is Fred Bean, son of Wil- 
liam H. and Mary (Colby) Bean, born at Waterloo in 
that town, September 30, 185 1. He was reared to farm 
labor, receiving such educational advantages only as the 
district school afforded, and has always been interested 
in agriculture, although engaged for some ten years in 
business as a grain dealer in Warner village, finally 
disposing of his interest in that line on account of his 
health, and subsequently devoting his attention to farm 
work . 

October 16, 1877, he was united in marriage with 
Frances A. Robbins, daughter of Francis Robbins, for- 
merly of Sutton. They have one daughter, Stella, born 
May 5, 1884. Their home is a charming place, known 
as " Ingleton Farm," a short distance up from the main 
street in Warner village, on the road to Kearsarge moun- 
tain. There are about twenty-five acres of choice land 
in this home place, with well-appointed buildings, pleas- 
ant grounds, and plent}' of shade and fruit trees, making 
it a desirable resort for summer boarders, who have been 
accommodated to some extent in recent years. 

Mr. Bean has another farm of about one hundred acres, 
situated opposite the River Bow Park fair grounds. For 
some time he was engaged, to a considerable extent, in 
breeding horses, and has a number of good animals in 



198 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

this line at present, but has given his attention more to 
dairying of late, keeping about ten cows, on the average, 
and selling his cream to the Henniker creamery. He 
raises from five to ten acres of corn each year, which he 
husks, and also raises quite an amount of oats, which he 
cuts for fodder. 

He has been a member of Warner grange for ten 
years or more, and has taken much interest in its suc- 
cess, filling various offices, including that of Master for 
1894. He also occupied the Master's chair a consider- 
able portion of the time in 1895, in the unavoidable 
absence of the regular incumbent. 

He has also been active and prominent in Masonry, 
having been a member of Harris lodge of Warner since 
1875, ^^^ which organization he has passed the chairs. 
In the Grand lodge he has served as District Deputy 
Grand Master and District Deputy Grand Lecturer. He 
is also a member of Woods Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, 
of Henniker, and has served as High Priest in that body. 

In politics, Mr. Bean is a Republican. He has been 
three times chosen a member of the board of selectmen, 
and was chairman of the board in 1891. He was also 
representative from Warner in i889-'90, during which 
term an extra session of the legislature was holden. In 
religion, he is a Baptist, and, with his family, is included 
in the membership of the church of that denomination at 
Warner village. 



WILLARD W. CHASE, 
George's Mills. 

One of the most important factors of agricultural suc- 
cess in New Hampshire is the summer boarding industry, 
and he w^ho readily combines farming and boarding, thus 
making a profitable market for his products on his own 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



199 



premises, has found the key to prosperity. There are 
many such men in New Hampshire, and a good repre- 
sentative of the class is Willard W. Chase, of " Pleasant 
Home," George's Mills, Sunapee. 

Mr. Chase, a son of Asa and Mary A. (Abbott) 
Chase, was born in Springfield, April 18, 1839. He was 
reared a farmer, enjoying only common school advan- 
tages, and lived at home until twenty years of age. He 

then worked out, most- 
ly at farm labor, until 
twenty-four, when he 
purchased from an 
uncle his grandfather's 
old farm in Spring- 
field, and went indus- 
triously to work im- 
proving the same, and 
ultimately erected on 
it a fine, new set of 
buildings. January 3, 
1870, he married 
Laura A., daughter of 
William Moyan of 
Springfield. In June 
of the following year 
he sold his farm, and, in company with Alfred Martin, 
who married his wife's twin sister, bought the mill prop- 
erty at George's Mills, and they operated the same to- 
gether for eighteen s'ears. 

Meantime, recognizing the eligibility of this beautiful 
location as a summer boarding resort, they commenced, 
in 1873, taking a few boarders, and gradually increased. 
In 1880, Mr. Chase began building what is now "Pleas- 
ant Home," making additions from time to time, till he 
has now a finely-appointed house, with accommodations 




AVU.LAIU) W. LllA.SK. 



200 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



for seventy-five guests, and has entertained not less than 
two hundred persons each season for the last few years. 
Mr. Chase has thirty acres of good farm land in con- 
nection with the house. He keeps six cows and pro- 




" Pleasant Home," George's Mills. 

duces all the milk, butter, cheese, pork, and lard 
necessary for the season's use : also fruit and vegetables 
in abundance. He has one son. Dura A., born March 
26, 187 1, who is married and is now engaged in the 
livery business in company with his uncle, Alfred Martin. 
He is a member of New London grange, also of Mt. 
Vernon lodge, F. and A. M., and Tabernacle Chapter 
of Newport. He was the leading spirit in the organiza- 
tion of the Sunapee Mutual Fire Insurance company, of 
which he is a vice-president and director, and in which 
he holds the first policy, which company, established in 
1886, has risks now approaching $200,000. Politically, 
he is a temperance Republican, and in religion he is 
affiliated with the Christian denomination, and was 
superintendent of the Sunday-school of that church in 
Springfield eight years. He had charge of the Sunday- 
school of the Union church at George's Mills, as super- 
intendent and teacher, twenty-five years. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



20I 



GEORGE W. GOODHUE, 

Hancock. 

One of the most substantial and industrious citizens 
and most successtiil farmers of the town of Hancock is 
George W. Goodhue, son of Jonas W. and Phebe (Wil- 
son) Goodhue, born in Nelson, April 20, 1857. His 
father, who was a farmer, removed from Nelson to Han- 
cock in 1870, and there resided, until his death in 1892, 
upon the place in Hancock village near the foot of 
Norway hill, which his son now occupies. The house, 
by the way, was built more than one hundred years ago, 
by Rev. Reed Paige, the first settled minister in Han- 
cock, and is, therelore, a historic landmark. 

Mr. Goodhue was educated in the town schools, and 
has passed his lite thus far in the pursuit of agriculture. 
At the age of twenty-one years, he purchased of his father 



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Home of (jeorge W. Goodhue, Hancock. 

a half interest in the farm, and a few years later the re- 
maining half. He has about seventy acres of land, alto- 
gether, in Hancock, and a hundred-acre pasture in 
Nelson. His hay crop amounts to about thirty-five 



202 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

tons per annum, and he also puts in about sixty tons of 
ensilage, having been the first man in town to build a 
silo, some fifteen years ago. He has a fine, modern 
barn, 36x68 feet, with cellar under the whole, and keeps 
eighteen to twenty head of cattle and two horses. He 
makes a specialty of private dairying, producing some 
fifteen hundred pounds of choice butter per annum, 
which he sells to special customers in Hancock and 
Boston. He has a good supply of fruit of all kinds for 
family use, and a good surplus of apples for the market. 

He is a member of John Hancock grange, and 
has filled various offices in the organization, including 
that of Master for two years. He is also a charter mem- 
ber of Hillsborough County Pomona grange. No. i. In 
politics, he is a Republican, and he is also a member of 
the Congregational church. He has served the town 
three years as a member of the school-board, four years 
as selectman, and was a representative in the legisla- 
ture of iSSp-'po. 

In September, 1879, ^^^ ^^^ united in marriage with 
Miss Ella L. Tuttle of Hancock, who is his faithful help- 
meet and co-laborer in all things. 



WILLIAM H. CHILD, 

Cornish. 

In the year 1775, Stephen Child, from Woodstock, 
Conn., settled upon a farm of 130 acres, about one mile 
south of the present village of Cornish Flat. It was a 
farm valued chiefly for its pine lumber. A bog meadow 
and rocky hillsides were its prominent features. Here 
he lived and died. His youngest son, Stephen (father 
of William H.), born in 1792, also lived here, dying in 
1866. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



203 



In 1832, the subject of this sketch was born. He 
graduated from Kimball Union academy, Meriden, in 
the class of 1856. He spent some time teaching in New 
Hampshire, Vermont, and Ohio. The faiHng health of 
his parents rendered it necessary for him to quit teach- 
ing and remain at home. On the first of January, 1857, 
he married Miss Ellen F. Leighton, of Hartford, Vt., 
who also received her education at Meriden. Together 

they took up the bur- 
den of life upon the 
old farm, with some- 
what dilapidated build- 
ings, and with a heavy 
mortgage upon the 
same. Their union was 
blessed with five chil- 
dren — William P., now 
in Australia, Frank 
Eugene, dying in in- 
fancy, Hattie Lillian, 
wife of R. C. True, 
Esq., of Lebanon, Ed- 
win L., who remains 
on the homestead, and 
Ida Louise, teacher in 
the grammar depart- 
ment of the West Lebanon graded school. 

Realizing the importance of an education, Mr. and 
Mrs. Child were willing to make sacrifices to give their 
children as good an education as their means would 
allow. The}' have long been members of the Baptist 
church, and have always been active in church and 
Sunday-school work. Mr. Child has always taken an 
interest in the affairs of the town and community. He 
is now serving his tenth year as member of the town 




William H. Child. 



204 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



school-board, and is also a director of the Cornish cream- 
ery. He is a Past Master of Cheshire Lodge F. and 
A. M., also Past D. D. G. M. of M. W. Grand Lodge of 
New Hampshire. 

In the year i860, a new barn 30 x 60 took the place of 
an old one, and this was followed by other extensive 
repairs. Considerable attention has also been given to 
the orchard, and the farm produces an abundance of 




Farm of William H. Child, Cokmsh. 

choice fruit. All these improvements required a con- 
stant outlay of money, and in spite of hard work and the 
most rigid economy and careful management, the debt 
had not decreased but rather increased, and he began to 
realize they were no longer young people, and were as 
yet unprovided with sufficient means to secure the com- 
forts needful for those in declining 3^ears. At this crit- 
ical period, his attention was turned to the many acres of 
swamp land, from which each year was secured but a 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 205 

small crop of the poorest quality of hay. After carefully 
considering the matter, and with the cooperation and 
assistance of his youngest son, who liad received a year's 
instruction at the New Hampshire College of Agriculture, 
he determined to begin the work of underdraining this 
land, and in 1886 the first tile was laid. The success 
attending this effort far exceeded his expectation, and so 
the work is still going on, with gratifying results. Over 
fifteen acres have now been underdrained, and from this 
land each year are raised enormous crops. He has 
taken many first premiums upon vegetables grown on 
land that had ever been considered worthless. As 
agent for John H. Jackson, of the New York State 
Drain Tile Works at Albany, he has not only used but 
sold large quantities of tile to others who have been wit- 
nesses of his success. Prominent among these patrons 
was the late Hon. Austin Corbin, who purchased and 
used several car-loads. 

Since beginning operations ten years ago, besides pay- 
ing all expenses of drainage, he has discharged over 
$1,800 of debt, that had long been hanging over the 
farm, besides largely increasing its value and more than 
doubling the personal property thereon. Although other 
circumstances have concurred to this end, yet this 
degree of success is very largely due to reasons before 
stated, viz. : the largely increased income from the farm. 
His experience furnishes a practical answer to tiie ques- 
tion regarding drainage : "Will it pay?" Besides bet- 
tering his condition financially, he has changed an 
unsightly piece of land to a beautiful meadow^ (a portion 
of which is herewith represented), which all the neigh- 
bors take pride in pointing out to visitors. 



2o6 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

WILLIAM H. NEAL, 

Meredith. 

Frequenters of the New England fair, and the leading 
fairs in this state for several years past, who have in- 
spected the stock departments, will recall the names of 
William Neal & Son, of Meredith, as leading exhibit- 
ors of thoroughbred Devon cattle, in the breeding of 
which, as well as Southdown sheep, w^hich they have 
pursued to a considerable extent, they gained a high 
reputation. 

William Neal was a native of Meredith, born October 
28, 1830, and passed his life in that town, as a farmer, 
the last quarter of a century upon the farm which the 
son, William H. Neal, now occupies, situated about a 
mile out of the village, upon the Centre Harbor road, 
and commanding a fine view of the bay and surrounding 
scenery. This farm contains about 100 acres of land, of 
exceptionally strong soil ; while three other lots, con- 
taining 100 acres more, altogether, are owned in con- 
nection therewith. The annual hay crop is about sixty 
tons, secured from thirty acres of land ; while from 600 
to 800 bushels of ears of corn, and a considerable amount 
of oats are also produced. Fruit and poultry are also 
raised to a considerable extent. 

For many years. Shorthorn stock was bred here with 
much success, and Southdown sheep were a prominent 
feature ; but for twelve years past, Devon stock has been 
the leading specialty, though the sheep are still contin- 
ued to some extent. About thirty-five head of cattle are 
now kept, including sixteen cows, the milk from which 
is retailed in the village. The stock was originally from 
the celebrated herd of Harley Hall of Lyndonville, Vt., 
and has been bred with great care. Some of the ani- 
mals are of superior value, and the premiums obtained 



2o8 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



at the different fairs have been almost surprising in ex- 
tent, amounting to over $500 in 1896 alone. 

William Neal married Mary E. Smith of Sanbornton, 
who died August 27, 1892, leaving two children, Wil- 
liam H., and Bertha M., another son having died at the 
age of eighteen years. Mr. Neal himself was killed by 
a railway train, while driving across the track, on his 
return from the Grafton Count}^ fair, at Plymouth, Sep- 
tember 18, 1895. He was a prominent citizen of his 
town, a Democrat in politics, and had served as select- 
man, and in other town offices. 

William H. Neal, the surviving son, who had been 
associated with his 
father in the man- 
agement of the farm, 
and succeeds him in 
proprietorship, was 
born in Meredith, July 
5, 187 1. He received 
a good, practical edu- 
cation, having gradu- 
ated at the Meredith 
high school, and at 
the commercial col- 
lege at New Hamp- 
ton, in 1890, since 
which time he has 
been actively engaged 
on the farm, and is an 
enthusiast in his spe- 
cialty. He is a member of Winnipesaukee grange of 
Meredith, and was Lecturer of that organization in 1896. 
He is, as yet, unmarried, his sister remaining at home in 
charge of the household. 




William H. Neal. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



209 



GEORGE G. RICE, 

RiNDGE. 

The Rices of Rindge are descendants of the emigrant, 
Edmund Rice, who came to America from the mother 
country in 1638. The first of the name to dwell in the 
town was Abijah Rice, grandfather of the subject of this 

sketch. Of him it is 
recorded that he was 
" a farmer, a man of 
integrity and unex- 
ceptionable charac- 
ter." His second son, 
Harrison G., was for 
many years the butch- 
er of the town, as well 
as a successful farm- 
er. He filled manv 
offices of trust in the 
town, including- those 
of selectman and rep- 
resentative. He mar- 
ried Elizabeth H. 
Wood, daughter of 
David Wood, of the town of Rindge. 

George G. Rice, eldest son of Harrison G. and Eliza- 
beth (Wood) Rice, was born in Rindge, July 8, 1845, 
and was educated and grew to manhood in that town. 
October 29, 1873, he married Martha F. Hale, daugh- 
ter of John F. and Rebecca (Bailey) Hale, a direct 
descendant of Moses Hale, one of the first settlers of 
Rindge, who located there in 1760, and a kinsman of 
Col. Nathan Hale of Revolutionary fame. The Hales 
of Rindge have always been one of the largest and most 

influential families, 
u 




Gkorc;e (i. Rice. 



2IO NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

At his marriage, Mr. Rice went directly on to the 
farm formerly owned by his grandfather, which he had 
previously purchased. This was an excellent farm, and 
here lifteen 3'ears of happy and successful farm life were 
passed. In the fall of 1888, the Cheshire Improvement 
company purchased Mr. Rice's farm, in order to secure 
his services as general superintendent, in which capacity 
he was engaged two years, when he resigned, much to 
the regret of the company, because he preferred being 
his own master. 

He immediately purchased a few acres of land, and 
again commenced farming on a small scale, as he termed 
it, and has added by successive purchases till he has 
now a larger farm than before. He has erected a large 
and beautiful farm-house and fine barn, with all neces- 
sary outbuildings. Fine scenery abounds in this region, 
and Mr. Rice's house, being located on high ground, 
commands a beautiful view. 

Mr. Rice has always given his attention to dairying. 
While on his first farm, he made butter, wliich was re- 
tailed to private customers ; but at present he is retailing 
milk in the village. He is a strong admirer of Jersey 
stock, and has some fine specimens of that breed. 

In politics, Mr. Rice is a Republican. He has served 
four years as a member of the board of selectmen, hav- 
ing been elected in 1889, '90, '91, and '96. He has 
always been interested in the schools, served as pruden- 
tial committee under the old system, and has been nine 
years a member of the scliool board under the new law. 
He is a thorough temperance man, never using liquor or 
tobacco in any form, and earnestly advising all young 
men to let both entirely alone. 

Mr. and Mrs. Rice have one son, Harris, born April 
2, 1881, their eldest, George H., dying in childhood. 
The family are all active members of Marshall P. Wilder 
grange. No. 134, of East Rindge. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



21 I 



CHESTER H. PHILLIPS, 

FITzw^.LIA^r. 

In the town of Fitzvviliiain, at the foot of the grand 
Monadnock, lies the farm of Cliester Herbert Phillips, one 
of the youngest, one of the most popular and progressive 
farmers of the town. The farm upon which he lives 
came into his possession in 1891. Of the two hundred 
acres that compose it, twenty-tive are under cultivation, 
fifty are in pasture land, and the remainder is wood and 
timber lands of spruce, pine, and hemlock. In the win- 
ter he is engaged in cutting the same. 

Mr. Phillips was married, April 20, 1892, to Anna M., 

daughter of Alvah M. 
Merrill of Plymouth, 
N. II., who is a fri"'id- 
uate of the N. H. Nor- 
mal school. They have 
one daughter, Mar- 
guerite, born Septem- 
ber 13, 1894. Posses- 
sed of a determined 
will and good iudo- 
ment, honesty and in- 
tegrit}', he is making 
his farm one of the 
best in the southern 
part of Cheshire coun- 
ty. The making of 
butter has always been 
a specialty with him until recently, butter iVom his farm 
commanding the highest market price. Celery growing 
also occupies a large share of his time. Situated mid- 
way between Fitzwilliam village and Winchendon, Mass., 
he has an abundant market. Corn is raised in sufficient 



■% -% 





Chester H. Phillips. 



212 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

quantity to supply tlie needs of the farm. In the near 
future, he contemplates the raising of raspberries for the 
market, believing there is a great profit in small fruit. 

Mr. Phillips has served the town three years succes- 
sively as selectman, having been chairman of the board 
in 1895. At the last meeting- of the Republican club, he 
was chosen county delegate to Keene. 

In the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, he is an 
interested member, holding various offices, until in 1894 
he was elected master, serving one year, and unanimous- 
ly elected for another term, which he declined. In the 
annual town fair association, he has served as secretary 
or as judge in some of the various departments, always 
working to promote the welfare and prosperit}' of the 
cause of agriculture. 

Mr. Phillips owns two houses, in one of which lives 
his father, Winslow Phillips, a hale and vigorous man 
of eighty years and one of the town's most respected 
citizens, and his mother, Susan (Bent) Phillips, a 
granddaughter of Rev. Arunah Allen. 



EDMUND STONE, 

SVVANZEY. 

The subject of this sketch is of the eighth generation 
from Gregory Stone, who embarked at Ipswich, England, 
in the ship Increas, April 15, 1635. The Stones have 
been an honored and respected family, prominent in the 
affairs of every town where they have lived. Edmund 
Stone, eldest son of Martin and Betsey V. Stone, was 
born in Fitzwilliam, April 5,1815, and removed with his 
parents to Swanzey when a child of two years, where he 
has ever since had his home, the house in which he lives 
having been erected by his father when he was fourteen 





■ 


Mr 


V 


% i 


y^ 


1 





Edmund Stone. 



214 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

years of age. He was educated in the district school, 
and after coming of age, worked out at farming for a 
few years; but, shortly after his marriage with Lucy, 
daughter of Davis Healey of Swanzey, February ii, 
1841, he came home, took charge of the farm, and 
assumed the care of his parents. He pursued mixed 
farming with a good measure of success for many years. 
He also engaced in the wood and timber business in the 
winter season, thus keeping himself actively engaged 
throughout the year, and in 1862 erected a stave mill, 
which proved a profitable investment. After about thir- 
ty-five years of active life, in the management of the 
farm and other business, during which time he increased 
his acreage from one hundred and fifty to about three 
hundred and sixty, and effected many improvements, he 
gave the direction of affairs into the hands of his young- 
est son, Lyman M. Stone, who remains at home and 
continues the business, and has also added some one 
hundred and twenty-five acres to the estate. They have 
about forty-five acres of tillage land, and some twenty 
acres of meadow too moist for cultivation, the balance 
being in pasture, wood, and timber. 

The annual hay crop amounts to about forty-five tons, 
which is supplemented with a large amount of corn fod- 
der and other crops, including, the last season, two hun- 
dred and fifty bushels of turnips. The stock kept con- 
.sists of about twenty-five head of cattle, three horses, and 
some sheep and swine. The buildings are well ar- 
ranged, and the house, which has been thoroughly re- 
modeled, is a handsome and convenient farm home. 

Mr, and Mrs. Stone had five children in all, two of 
whom died young. Those surviving are Seamon A., 
born July 15, 1842, now bookkeeper of the Phoenix 
Building society of Chicago, who married Mollie King 
of that city, and has four children ; Ellen A., born Oct. 



PERSONAL AND FAHM SKETCHES. 21 5 

6, 1843, now the wife of Calvin Davis, a farmer of Rox- 
bury ; and Lyman M., the son now at home, who mar- 
ried Leathe J. Greenleaf and has three children, and 
who is known as an enterprising farmer and public- 
spirited citizen. 

After more than half a century of happy married life, 
Mrs. Stone was " called home "in 1895. Edmund Stone, 
at eighty-two years of age, is found in the full enjoyment 
of large mental powers, and good ph3'sical health — a 
man whom it is a pleasure to meet ; who is reaping the 
rewards of a temperate, industrious lite in the respect and 
esteem of his fellow-men. In politics, he has never been 
a partisan, but has always given his support to the men 
and measures that he deemed most worthy, regardless 
of party restraint. He has served his town on the board 
of selectmen, and was collector of taxes for eleven 
successive years. 



L. HARLAND ROBBINS, 

Mason. 

The Robbinses were among the earliest settlers of 
Mason, and their descendants have ever since dwelt in 
that town. Among the prominent representatives of the 
famih', there residing at the present time, is L. Harland 
Robbins, the subject of this sketch, son of Louis and 
Emil}' (Winship) Robbins, born May 10, 1844. Edu- 
cated in the town schools and reared to farm life, he has 
pursued the agricultural calling with devotion and a good 
measure of success, first working for others and ulti- 
mately for himself. 

In December, 1868, he married Abby E. Wheeler of 
New Ipswich, being at that time engaged in the emplov 
of an uncle of his bride, in whose service he remained 
about a year. Subsequently they resided for a 3'ear in 



2l6 



NEW HAMPSHIRE ACJRICUI.TURE. 



Townsend, Mass., returning to take charge of Mr. 
Wheeler's home, the wife of the latter having died. He 
remained there some time, his wife having charge of the 
house, and himself engaged upon the farm. He was 
afterward engaged for a year in Ashby, Mass., and then 
took charge of the town farm in that place, which he 
managed successfully two years, when he removed to 
the farm on which he now resides, which he had pur- 
chased meanwhile. It was then what is generally 
known as a " run-down farm," and produced no more 




Farm Home of L. Harland Kobiuxs, Mason. 



forage than would have sufficed to keep tliree cows and 
a pair of horses. 

Mr. Robbins went to work systematically and ear- 
nestly, with the determination to effect a change for the 
better, and he has continued the work of improvement 
iVom that time to the present, keeping now upon the 
place a stock of some twenty-tive head of cattle and five 
horses, two hundred and fifty hens, and ten to fifteen 
swine, meanwhile having constructed a fine, commodi- 
ous barn, and thoroughly remodeled the house, so that 
he has one of the best appointed farm homes in the 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 217 

vicinity, the attractiveness of which is materially enhanced 
by the beautiful scenery with which it is surrounded. 

Mr. Robbins has followed mixed farming, though 
making quite a specialty of small fruits at one time, par- 
ticularly berries, selling from $400 to $500 worth of 
strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries in a season. 
He made a trial of peaches, setting several hundred 
trees, but did not find them a success. Winter dairying 
is now a leading feature of his farm work, about one 
hundred pounds of choice butter per week being retailed 
in Fitchburg, Mass. He believes in raising his own 
stock, and fine grade Holsteins constitute the main por- 
tion thereof. 

Mr. Robbins's first wife died in October, 1878, leaving 
two children, Melville H., born October 31, 1869, and 
L. Edith, July 28, 1873. In May, 18S1, he was united 
with his present wife, Miss Georgianna Hayward, daugh- 
ter of Austin and Martha (Wright) Hayward, of Ashby, 
Mass. 

Politically, Mr. Robbins is a Democrat, and he has 
served his town as a member of the board of selectmen. 
Both he and his wife are interested members of Fruit- 
dale grange. No. 106, of Mason. 



ALFRED J. GOULU 

Newport. 

In the northwestern portion of the town of Newport, 
four or five miles distant from the village, on the road 
from Northville to Cornish Flat is the Gould homestead, 
now known as "Fruit Farm," originally settled by Nathan 
Gould of Hopkinton in 1790, and now the home of his 
grandson, Alfred J. Gould, who has long been regarded 
as one of the most prosperous and successful farmers in 
the town. Here were reared the ten children of Nathan 



2l8 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



and Betsey (Goodwin) Gould, and here their eldest son, 
Gideon, lived and died at the age of more than fourscore 
years. 

Alfred J. Gould, onh- child of Gideon and Sally 
(Ward) Gould, was born at the old homestead January 
i8, 1840, and here has always had his home, succeeding 
to the estate upon his father's decease. He was educated 
at the district school and at Newport academy, but with 
a natural inclination for the occupation of his ancestors, 

has devoted himself 
closely to airriculture 
throughout his life, 
and by thorough cul- 
tivation has maintain- 
ed the fertility and in- 
creased the product- 
iveness ot the farm, 
which, originally em- 
bracing one hundred 
and fifty acres, now 
includes about three 
hundred and fifty, ex- 
tensive additions hav- 
ing been made from 
time to time by his 
father and himself. 
From fifty to seventy- 
five acres are in mowing and tillage, and the annual hay 
crop averages about seventy-five tons. 

Mixed farming has always been pursued on this farm, 
though it had a reputation for the excellence of its dairy 
products half a century ago and more, and has been 
known particularly of late for the excellent quality and 
large variety of its fruit. From twent}' to thirty head of 
cattle, four horses, and about fifty sheep are usually 




Alfred J. (jould. 



220 NEW hampshirp: agriculture. 

kept, and the raising of milch cows for sale has been 
quite a feature in the recent management of the place. 
So, also, is the maple sugar product, sent to the Boston 
market largely in the form of superior syrup, of which 
some four hundred or five hundred gallons are annually 
produced. He raises annually from a ton to a ton and 
a half of pork for market, believing it to be far preferable 
to the purchase of commercial fertilizers. 

Mr. Gould has a natural taste for fruit culture, and, 
his soil being peculiarly adapted to the thrifty growth of 
the apple, he has taken pains to graft to the best varieties 
all apple-trees springing up on the place, and has set 
many more, so that he has now on his farm over i,ooo 
grafted apple-trees. Many of these have not come mto 
full bearing as yet, though his average product is from 
one hundred and fifty to four liundred barrels, which will 
be largely increased in a few years, the Baldwin being 
the leading variety. He has also about one hundred and 
twenty-five plum- and as many pear-trees, and many 
bushels of these choice fruits are also marketed in bear- 
ing years. 

Although with characteristic modesty refraining from 
any active demonstration in the political field, Mr. Gould, 
who is a Republican, is interested in public affairs, and 
has served four years as a member of the board of select- 
men, and was a representative from Newport in the legis- 
lature of 1889, serving as a member of the finance 
committee and taking an active interest in all matters of 
importance coming before the house. He is liberal in 
his religious convictions ; is a member of Sugar River 
Lodge, No. 55, I. O. O. F., and also of Sullivan grange. 
No. 8, of Newport, of which organization he has been 
several years treasurer. He is one of the Trustees of the 
Newport Savings Bank. 

Mr. Gould married Sarah Jane Ayers of Cornish, 



l»ERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 221 

December 15, 1861, who died October 6, 1864, leaving 
one son, who also died at the age of five years. Febru- 
ary 3, 1866, he was united with his present wife, Miss 
Orpha A. Honey of Lempster, by whom he has one 
daughter, Mary Alice, born June i, 1886, while two 
sons died in infancy. 



PHILIP C. CLOUGH, 

Canterbury. 

A prominent representative of the well-known Clough 
family of Canterbury is Philip Carrigan, son of Thomas 
and Hannah (Hazeltine) Clough, born February 19, 1835, 
upon the old homestead, now in his possession, and orig- 
inally owned by his grandfather, Obadiah Clough, 
where he has ever had his home. Mr. Clouirh was edu- 
cated in the district schools and at New Hampton Insti- 
tution, and has devoted his life to agricultural pursuits, 
studying the best methods and doing thoroughly what- 
ever he undertakes. The home farm, upon which is a 
substantial set of buildings, contains about 125 acres. 
In addition to this, he has about 200 acres more, in two 
other localities in town, mostly wood and pasture, one 
lot being the old Hazeltine place, formerly occupied by 
his mother's family. About 50 acres of his home farm 
is in mowing and tillage, and is thoroughly cultivated. 
In former years, wool growing was a specialty on this 
farm, from 125 to 150 fine sheep being kept for this pur- 
pose ; but of late dairying has been a leading feature, 
and of the 25 head of cattle usually kept, about 15 are 
milch cows, whose production is carried to the cream- 
ery, a stock company which Mr. Clough was largely 
interested in establishing, and the cream sold to H. P. 
Hood & Sons of Derry. The hay product is sup- 
plemented for feeding purposes by ensilage, for which 



222 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



about five acres of Northern corn is usually raised, and 
cut into the silo, ears and all, at the proper time. Three 
horses are also kept on the place. 

The stock kept is mostly of the Holstein breed, and 
includes some superior animals. Mr. Cloucjh has been 
a successful exliibitor at the fairs, and at the last state 
exhibition, at Tilton, won a first prize on bull, and also 
on milch cow. A good amount of fruit is produced, and 
in bearing years several hundred barrels of apples are 
sold. Mr. Clough also 
buys apples quite ex- 
tensively for the mar- 
ket, and owns a hall 
interest in the Canter- 
bury Store Co. ; and 
here it may be said 
that he has also for 
many years sold agri- 
cultural implements of 
various kinds, being 
the agent of the well- 
known Boston firm of 
George Tyler & Co. 
Believing in the best 
tools of all kinds for 
his own use, he has 
thus been instrumental in furnishing superior implements 
to others. 

Mr. Clough married, August 30, 1866, Mary E. Batch- 
elder, daughter of Eleazer Batchelder, of Canterbury. 
Two children were born to them, but both died in in- 
fancy. About fifteen years ago they took to their home 
two children — Katie and Henrv Gleason — ffivino- tiiem a 
good, practical education at the town school and Tilton 
Seminary. Katie is now engaged in teaching, while 




Philip C. Clough. 



PERSONAL AND FAR INI SKETCHES. 2 23 

Henry is still at home, caring for the interests ot the 
farm. 

Mr. Clough is a member of the Congregational church, 
and in politics Republican. He has been several times a 
member of the board of selectmen in Canterbury, and two 
years chairman, and in November, 1896, was chosen 
representative to the legislature by seventy-eiglit major- 
ity, though the town has ordinarily been Democratic. 
He is a member of Doric lodge, F. & A. M., of Tilton, 
was a charter member of Merrimack River grange, of 
Canterburv, of which he has been master, and a charter 
member and tirst steward of Merrimack County Pomona 
grange. He was an active promoter of the Grange State 
fair, and has been superintendent of ditlerent depart- 
ments and a member of the executive committee. He is 
also president of the Canterbury & Boscawen Telephone 
company. 



NOAH FARR, 

Littleton. 

One of the best farms in the thriving town of Littleton, 
which, although better known as a summer boarding resort 
and mountain-travel centre, also ranks among the leading 
agricultural towns of the state, is owned and occupied 
b}^ Noah Farr. This was formerly known as the Timo- 
th}^ Gile place, and is located on the Ammonoosuc river, 
a mile or more below the village. It was on this farm 
that the first settlement was made within the town limits, 
a party of temporary settlers having built a rude log 
barn on the meadow in 1769, and the first permanent 
settler, Nathan Caswell, coming here with his family in 
the following spring. In this log barn, the night after 
their arrival, April 11, Mrs. Caswell gave birth to a son, 
the first white child born in town. 



224 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



Mr. Farr is a native of Littleton, a son of Oilman and 
Philena (Allen) Farr, born December lo, 1836, on what 
is known as " Farr hill." He received his education in 
the town schools, and when eighteen years of age, his 
father having purchased this farm, he removed with him 
hither, where he has since had his home, pursuing the 
farmer's calling, in which he has taken much interest 
and been quite successful. Tie worked for his father 
until thirty years of 
age, and then in com- 
pany with a brother-in- 
law, — B. F. Lane, now 
of Whitefield, purchas- 
ed the farm. Two years 
later, he bought Mr. 
Lane's interest, and 
has since been proprie- 
tor. 

The farm at present 
embraces 225 acres, of 
which 50 is in mowing 
and tillage, most of this 
being Ammonoosuc 

River meadow, of great 

^ ... . ^ r X Noah Fakk. 

fertility, SIX tons 01 hay 

having been cut in one season on a single acre, in two 
cuttings. 

Dairying is Mr. Farr's specialty, comparatively little 
land being devoted to tillage. He was for a time en- 
gaged in retailing milk in the village, when he kept as 
many as thirty cows. At present, he is selling cream 
to the White Mountain creamery, and has reduced his 
number of cows. He keeps half a dozen horses, and for 
the past few years has had a number of summer board- 
ers. His buildings are in first-class condition, a new 




226 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

barn — 90x47 feet, with cellar under the whole, without 
a post, it being supported by iron rods — having been 
built in 1877. House, stable, and basement are all sup- 
plied with pure running water. There is also a shop 
which contains the best equipment of mechanical tools 
possessed by any farmer in the state, in which Mr. Farr 
spends much time both pleasantly and profitably. The 
buildings, as a whole, are generally regarded as the best 
set of farm buildings in the county. Mr. Farr is an ad- 
mirer of Holstein stock, and was the first man to intro- 
duce this favorite milk-producing breed into Littleton, 
procuring a fine blooded bull of 2,000 pounds weight, 
some years since, through which the stock of the neigh- 
borhood was greatl}' improved. 

Mr. Farr married, first, Mary B. Griggs, of Littleton, 
in December, 1868, who died in May, 1870. October 10, 
1871, he was united with Sarah, daughter of Jerediah 
Farmer, of Bethlehem. They have two sons, Arthur N. 
and Albert L., the former living at West Milan, and the 
latter at home. Mr. Farr was a charter member and 
first steward of White Mountain grange, and has served 
as overseer and treasurer ; also as treasurer of Northern 
New Hampshire Pomona grange. He has also been 
treasurer of the town school district. He is a Republi- 
can and a Congregationalist, and has been several years 
librarian of the Sunday-school. 



PROF. J. W. SANBORN, 

GiLMANTON. 

No man in this country is better known tor his connec- 
tion with educational and experimental work in agricul- 
ture than Jeremiah W. Sanborn of Gilmanton, son of 
George W. and Mary Ann (Brown) Sanborn, born 
February 4, 1847, on a farm in that town which de- 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 2 27 

scended in the family from tlie original proprietor. 
Educated at Pittsfield and Gilmanton academies, and 
Concord high school, he was made superintendent of 
schools in Gilmanton at twenty-one, and a member of the 
state board of agriculture at twenty-six. Subsequently 
he served as a representative in the legislature. He was 
for some years superintendent of the Afj-ricultural colleire 
farm at Hanover. 

He removed to Missouri and became dean of the 
agricultural department of the University of Missouri, 
secretary of the Missouri state board of agriculture, United 
States statistician for Missouri, secretary of the Kansas 
City Fat Stock Show, and director of the Missouri state 
experiment station. From here he was called to Utah, 
where he aided in the establishmentof the Utah Agricul- 
tural college, of which he was the first president. He 
was also director of the Utah experiment station, and 
held other positions in that territory. He collected the 
agricultural exhibits of Missouri for the New Orleans 
exposition, and those of Utah for the Columbian exposi- 
tion at Chicago. 

Later he returned to New Hampshire and became 
agricultural editor of the Manchester Mirror. He was 
one of the first, if not the first, among the agricultural 
college workers to conduct and publish systematic experi- 
ments, and has been a prolific writer for the agricultural 
press. He wrote the agricultural section of Gateley's 
"World's Progress," thepublisher searching Europe and 
America tor an author for this department. He has been 
widely called upon in the lecture field, his experience 
covering New England, the Mississippi valley, and 
Utah. Many of his experiments are original, and have 
attracted attention on both sides of the Atlantic. At 
present, he is conducting his farm of 1,700 acres in Gil- 
manton on original lines, partly in the public interest. 



228 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



He was recently appointed a trustee of the New Hamp- 
shire Agricultural college. 

Prof. Sanborn married, June 4, 1872, Belle G. Osborne 
of Loudon. Their children are Harry W., Alice, and 
Carl J. 



JOHN ALBERT PEASLEE, 
Bradford. 

Bradford and Newbury are among the rugged towns 
in the backbone region of the state, but there are good 
farms and thrifty farmers within their limits, as has been 
evidenced by the exhibitions of the Bradford and New- 
bury Agricultural Soci- 
ety during the past 20 
years, with which John 
Albert Peaslee of the 
former town has been 
prominently identified 
from the start. 

Mr. Peaslee, son of 
John and Betsey (Pres- 
by) Peaslee, was born 
December 14, 1845, on 
the old homestead upon 
which his father was the 
original settler, clearing 
it up and residing upon 
it for sixt3^-two years . 
Here he was reared and 
has spent the greater 

portion of his life. He was educated in the town schools 
and has always been actively identified with the town's 
interests. November 22, 1871, he married Miss Maria 
R. Smith, daughter of Ira Smith of New London. They 




John Albert Peaslee. 



230 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

have one child, a daughter, Lura M. Peaslee, now 22 
years of age, who remains at home. 

The Peaslee tarm, which originally contained about 
175 acres, and to which additions, increasing the acre- 
age to over 300, have been made, has always been noted 
for superior stock, especiall}' neat cattle, its oxen being 
particularly fine. Grade Holstein and Ayrshires are now 
mainly kept, the cows, whose milk is sold at the cars, 
numbering about forty the past season. Sometimes as 
many as eighty head of cattle, altogether, have been win- 
tered, and from three to five horses are also kept. About 
eighty-five acres of land is in grass, and from_ five to six 
hundred bushels of corn on the ears produced in an 
average season. The farm has also a good variety of 
fruit. The grounds occupied by the Fair Association 
are a part of the Peaslee farm, and the free use of the 
same, on which there is a good half-mile track, has been 
given by Mr. Peaslee to the society since its organiza- 
tion in 1875, during all of which time he has served as 
superintendent. 

In politics Mr. Peaslee is an active Democrat, and has 
been prominent in the party councils and in public af- 
fairs. He was elected a member of the board of select- 
men in 1872, and reelected the three following years. 
In 1876 he served with John W. Morse and Horace 
Martin on a commission to fund the town debt. In 1878 
he was again elected as a selectman, but did not serve, 
accepting that year the position of superintendent of the 
Merrimack County Farm at North Boscawen, at the 
hands of the county commissioners, the responsible 
duties of which place he discharged with such excellent 
acceptance that he was continued in charge during two 
years of Republican control, until 1881, when he was 
himself elected upon the board of commissioners, and 
subsequently returned to his home in Bradford. In 1884 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 23I 

he was chairman of the board of selectmen, and repre- 
sentative in i885-'86 : was chosen a member of the 
board of education for three years in 1888, and select- 
man again in 1891, 1892, and 1893. 

Mr. Peasiee is a member of the Masonic fraternity and 
secretary of St. Peter's Lodge of Bradford. He has 
been a justice of the peace for twenty-five years, and does 
a large amount of business in that capacity, and in the 
settlement of estates. He is also agent of the Merrimack 
County Fire Insurance Company. Since 1894 he has 
resided at Bradford village, but retains the active man- 
agement of his farm. 



ALONZO W. GIBSON, 

RiNDGE. 

Alonzo W. Gibson is of the eiirhth (generation of the 
descendants of John Gibson, who came to America in 
1639. Born in Salem, Mass., September 2^, 1852, 
when two years of age his parents, John A. and Mary 
(Davis) Gibson, moved to Rindge, N. H., which has 
since been his home. At the age of fourteen years he 
started out to make his own way in the world, being em- 
ployed by farmers through the summer, and working for 
his board and schoolino; winters, until manhood, attend- 
ing the district schools and one term at an academy. 
Called home by his father's failing health, he assumed 
charge of the family, tenderly caring for his father dur- 
ing the remainder of his life, as he was also the support 
and dependence of his mother and vounger brother and 
sisters. 

After his father's death he purchased the home farm. 
Subsequently an adjoining farm was added, making one 
hundred and fifty acres in all, of which thirty is mowing, 
the balance pasture and woodland. His specialty is 



232 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



dairying, forty pounds of gilt-edged butter being pro- 
duced weekly, which he delivers to private customers in 
Winchendon, Mass., who also furnish a market for eggs, 
milk, cream, vegetables, and all farm products. Though 
not large, the farm is a productive one, and is run on 
the intensive plan, Mr. Gibson doing most of the work 
himself with the best attainable machinery, the addi- 
tional labor required being hired by the day. No farmer 
in the region is better 
supplied with machin- 
ery, some of which, 
being quite a mechan- 
ic, he has manutac- 
tured himselt\ He has 
just added to his equip- 
ment a building con- 
taining blacksmith and 
carpenter shops, and 
mill with a six horse- 
power Baxter engine 
and saw for cutting 
wood, of which he has 
a large amount and 
which finds a ready 
market. The pleasant 
home, an engraving of which is here given, is largely 
the work of his own hands, he having thoroughly re- 
modeled the same about the time of his marriage, Jan- 
uar}' 19, 1887, with Mrs. Idella (Converse) Norcross, 
daughter of Zebulon and Ann (Mixer) Converse of 
Rindge. 

At the time of her marriage with Mr. Gibson, Mrs. 
Norcross, who came of a family long prominent in this 
region, had a little son, eight years of age, to whom Mr. 
Gibson has been a most indulgent father. This son, 




Ai,<)X/i) W. CjUisox. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



233 



Arthur Z. Norcross, is now a student in the State college 
at Durham, class of '99. One daughter, Florence Idella, 
now five years of age, has been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Gibson. 

" Meadow View Farm," as the Gibson place is known, 
is situated on a hill overlooking the Converse reservoir, 
or meadow, and some of the finest views in the beautitul 
hill town ofRindge are obtained from different points on 
the place, making it a most delightful residence. 



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REsn:)ENCE of A. VV. Gibsox, Rixdge. 



Mr. Gibson is a thorough believer in the principle of 
doing business on the cash basis, " owing no man any- 
thing." He is also a strict temperance man, using 
neither spirituous liquor nor tobacco in any form. As 
an earnest temperance worker, he has done all in his 
power to aid in enforcing the prohibitory laws in the town 
of Rindge. He is a member of the Congregational 
church and Sunday-school, and an active member of the 
Christian Endeavor society, of which he has been presi- 
dent. Politically he is a Republican, but has never 
sought public office at the hands of his party or towns- 
men. 



234 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

He is an enthusiastic Patron of Husbandry, and his 
voice is often heard in the discussions at the meetings of 
Cheshire Count}^ Pomona grange, of which he is a mem- 
ber. Both he and Mrs. Gibson were charter members 
of Marshall P. Wilder grange, No. 134, and both have 
worked long and faithfully to promote its prosperity. 
Mr. Gibson has served as steward, overseer, lecturer, 
and master, and Mrs. Gibson has been chaplain, lecturer, 
and master, being the first lady master in Cheshire 
count}'. Both received the seventh degree of the order 
at the meeting of the National grange in Concord, in 
November, 1892. 



MAPLE VIEW FARM, HOPKINTON, 
WiLLARD T. Greene, Proprietor. 

Delightfully located upon the highlands overlooking 
the Perkins Inn and the business square in Hopkinton 
village, is " Maple View Farm," the home of Willard T. 
Greene, whose fame as a breeder and trainer of fine 
horses is only equalled by his reputation as a breeder of 
fancy poultry. 

Mr. Greene is a son of the late Hon. Herman W. 
and Fannie (Willard) Greene, his father having been a 
prominent figure in New Hampshire politics for many 
years. He was born in Hopkinton, June 9, 1856, and 
has ever had his home in that town. He was educated 
in the district school, at Hopkinton academy, and the 
New Hampshire Conference seminary at Tilton. With 
a natural love for horses, he became a successful trainer 
and driver in early life, and for the last fifteen years or 
more, since his marriage and occupancy of " Maple View 
Farm," he has been engaged in breeding fine-blooded 
horses, mostly of the Wilkes strain. Among the best 
known of these are " Lady Helen " — 2 :25i, with a trial 




> 



236 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



of 2:142^, and "Simbrino" — 2:22^. He was tlie first 
man in the state, it is believed, to breed and develop a 
horse to trot in 2 : 20 over a half-mile track in New 
Hampshire, and he has brought out a number that 
have beaten 2 : 30. He has personally given up track 
driving of late on account of the danger involved, and is 
devoted exclusively to the breeding of gentlemen's high- 
class road horses and fanc}^ poultrv. 

He has bred fan- 
cy poultry since ' 
1874. Plymouth 
Rocks were his spe- 
cialty for sometime, 
of which variety he 
bred birds selling at 
$25 each, and some 
of which have won 
prizes at leading ex- 
hibitions all over 
the country. Of 
late, he has taken 
up the Black Lang- 
shang, which he re- 
gards as superior to 
any other of the 
Asiatic class f o r 
winter e^g produc- 
tion. He has a finely appointed, two-story henhouse, 
with ample yards, and keeps some 300 birds. He breeds 
about 500 chickens annually, and sells chickens and 
eggs all over the country, shipping the latter to every 
state in the Union. 

"Maple View Farm" contains about fifty acres of 
excellent land. The buildings are in first-class condi- 
tion and the house fitted with all modern improvements. 




WiLi.AKD T. Greene. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 237 

Mr. Greene is a Republican in politics and Episco- 
palian in religion. He has served three years as deputy- 
sheriff, and twice as a member of the board of supervis- 
ors. Of late he has done considerable business as an 
auctioneer. He married, January i, 1880, Etta Comer, 
daughter of the late George G. Bailey of the Boston 
Hc7-ald. They have three children — Fannie E., Sadie 
R., and Gardner B. 



P. M. LORD, 

DUNBARTON. 

P. M. Lord, son of Thomas and Solinda (Messer) 
Lord, is one of the successful farmers of the town of 
Dunbarton. He was born August 6th, 1850, and in 
1859 I'cmoved with his parents to Hopkinton, where he 
received his education in the district schools and the 
Hopkinton academy. December 22d, 1870, he was 
married to Miss Ellen L. Kimball, youngest daughter of 
Moses T. Kimball, a prominent farmer of the sariie town. 
They have one daughter, Neva B., now nearly twenty- 
one years of age, a teacher by occupation. 

In 1874, in company witii his father, he returned to 
his native town and purchased the large and extensive 
farm upon which he now resides, which, with out- 
lands, consists of upward of three hundred and fift}^ acres 
of woodland, pasturage, and tillage. The buildings 
have nearly all been rebuilt, and about fifty acres have 
been thoroughly cleared of stone and are now suitably 
adapted to the use of all kinds of farm machiner}^ by 
the use of which the work of the farm is now carried on. 
Mixed farming is practised, but the leading productions 
are corn, oats, and hay, of which seventy-five tons are cut 
annually. Dairying is also made a specialty, upwards 



2sS 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



of a ton of butter having been marketed to customers in 
Manchester during a year. 

Mr. Lord is a member of the Congregational church 
and was superintendent of its Sunday-school for several 
years. Has also served as selectman two years, and 
was a member of the school-board six years, and treas- 
urer of the town school district six 3'ears. He became a 
member of Stark grange in 1874, ^"^1 was at that time 
elected secretarjs and held the position for several years ; 
was also master two years, lecturer two years, and is 
now serving as district deputy in the State grange. 



ADDISON S. CRESSY, 
Bradford. 

''Meadow Brook Farm " is one of the most pleasantly 
located and productive places in the town of Bradford. 
Located a mile or more out of the village, toward the 
" Centre," in the midst of delightful scenery, it is a most 
eligible resort for summer boarders, numbers of whom 
have here been entertained for several years past. 




Residence of A. S. Cressy, Bradford. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



^39 



This is the home of Addison S. Cressy, who was 
born on the adjoining farm, now owned by a brother, 
December 20, 1825. His parents were Cyrus and Han- 
nah (Sawyer) Cressy, and his grandfatlier, Richard, 
who removed from Hopkinton in 1794, was one of the 
early settlers of the town. This Richard Cressy was a 
soldier in the Revolution, and fought at Bunker Hill, 
and his grandson, Addison S., has now in his possession 

two passes signed by 
Gen. John Stark, giv- 
en him during his ser- 
vice. 

Mr. Cressy has al- 
ways been a resident 
of Bradford, and en- 
gaged in agriculture. 
He first had a small 
farm near Bradford 
Centre, but for more 
ilian a quarter of a 
century has owned and 
occupied his present 
tarm, which contains 
240 acres. He cuts 
about seventy tons of 
hay per annum, puts 
in seventy-five tons of ensilage, raises several hundred 
bushels of corn, and plenty of fruit and vegetables. His 
stock consists of five horses, and twenty-five to thirty 
head of cattle, including fifteen good dairy cows, the 
milk from which he has of late sold at the cars. The 
buildings are well appointed and in good repair, the 
spacious house being admirabl}' adapted for the accom- 
modation of summer guests. 

Mr. Cressy is a Democrat in politics, and has filled 




AijuLSON S. Ckessv. 



240 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

most of the town offices, including tiiat of collector, 
selectman for several years, supervisor, also for a long 
term, and representative in the legislature in 1878. He 
has also served as treasurer of the town school district, 
and has been for several years a justice of the peace. 
He is a member of St. Peter's lodge, F. & A. M,, of 
Bradford, and was a charter member and several years 
lecturer of Bradford grange. May 29, 1855, he married 
Mary E. West. They have five children living ; Milner 
A. is a farmer in Newbury, Abbie M. is the wife of 
George Hackett of Claremont Junction, George F. is 
postmaster at Bradford, while John W. and Nettie H. 
are still at home. 



PINE GROVE FARM, HAVERHILL, 
Henry W. Keyes, Proprietor. 

Amonor the best known stock farms in New Hampshire 
for many years past, "Pine Grove Farm," at North 
Haverhill, has held a conspicuous position. This farm, 
originally owned by Moses Dow, a distinguished citizen 
and one of the first lawyers in Grafton county, who set- 
tled here before the Revolution, and held various impor- 
tant offices, but modestly declined an election to congress, 
because he felt incompetent for the position, was pur- 
chased more than thirty years ago by the late Henry 
Keyes of Newbury, Vt., president of the Connecticut & 
Passumpsic Rivers railroad, who carried out extensive 
improvements, and engaged in stock-raising, breeding 
fine-blooded Durham cattle and Merino sheep on a large 
scale. 

Mr. Keyes died in 1870, leaving a wife — formerly 
Miss Emma F. Pierce — and five children, three sons and 
two daughters. The eldest of the sons — Henry W. 
Keyes — who was born in Newbury, May 23, 1863, 




IC) 



242 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

though still pursuing his studies, assumed the manage- 
ment of the farm when eighteen years of age, and it has 
since been in his hands, and its reputation as a superior 
stock farm maintained and largely extended. 

The farm contains about 1,200 acres of land in all, 
of which about two hundred and twenty-five acres are 
mowing and tillage, including a magnificent tract of 
Connecticut river intervale, with a large amount of 
higher meadow and plain land. About two hundred 
and fifty tons of hay are cut annually, while from fifteen 
to twenty acres of corn are ensilaged. In the season of 
1896, ninety acres of land were under the plow, fifty 
acres in oats, and forty in corn, the latter being half 
ensilage and half field corn. All the crops produced are 
fed on the farm, to the splendid stock of Holstein and 
Jersey cattle, fine-blooded trotting and French coach 
horses, Shropshire sheep, and Yorkshire swine, all of 
which have been selected, or bred, with great care from 
the best imported animals. The stock the past season 
embraced about one hundred head of cattle, twenty fine 
horses, one hundred and twenty-five sheep, and fifty 
swine. Of late, Mr. Keyes has been crossing the Hol- 
stein and Jersey with great success, for dairy purposes. 
His Shropshire sheep have become noted all over the 
country, and have included the best premium animals in 
New England ; and the same may be said of his cattle 
and swine. Indeed, a more extensive display of prize 
ribbons than is to be seen in his office can with difficulty 
be found, the same having been won at the New England, 
Bay State, Vermont, Rhode Island, Grange State, and 
various other fairs in New England and Canada. 

The buildings upon this farm are extensive, well ap- 
pointed, and in excellent condition, every way in keeping 
with the reputation of the place, and admirably adapted 
for the purposes designed, standing well in tVom the 



PERSONAI. AND FARM SKETCHES. 243 

highway and commanding a fine view of the beautiful 
Connecticut valley. The house includes the original 
Dow mansion, with additions and improvements, and is 
still the family home, over which the mother presides, 
Mr. Keyes being still unmarried. 

Mr. Keyes was educated in the Boston public schools, 
at Adams academy, and Harvard college, graduating 
from the latter in 1887. He is a Democrat in politics, 
has served several years as selectman, was a member of 
the state legislature in 1891 and in 1893, and was the 
candidate of his party for senator in the Grafton district 
in 1894, receiving more votes than his Republican oppo- 
nent, but failing of an election for want of a majority 
over all. He has also served one term as a trustee of 
the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the 
Mechanic Arts. He is a director of the Connecticut & 
Passumpsic Rivers railroad, a member of Grafton lodge, 
F. & A. M., and of Pink Granite grange. North Haver- 
hill. He is also vice-president of the Nashua River 
Paper Co., of Pepperell, Mass., of which one of his 
brotiiers is president and the other treasurer, and was 
actively instrumental in the establishment of the North 
Haverhill creamery, at which the milk from his dairy is 
marketed. 



ZERAH E. TILTON, 
Bristol. 

The town of Bristol is generally known for its activity 
and enterprise as a manufacturing place, yet there are 
prosperous and progressive tarmers within its borders, 
prominent among whom is Zerah E. Tilton, proprietor 
of "New Found Valley Stock Farm," located about 
half a mile outside the village. 

Mr. Tilton is a native of the town of Groton, son of 



^44 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



Elbridge and Alice (Cummings) Tilton, born May 23, 
1858. His parents removed to Laconia when he was 
seven years of age, where they resided until he was 
fourteen, then removing to Bristol and locating upon 
the farm which he now occupies, where he has ever 
since had his home. His education was obtained in the 
Laconia ori'aded schools and the Bristol High school, 
and at the age of twenty-one he engaged with his father 
in the retail milk business, the partnership continuing 
until the death of the latter, after which he ran the busi- 
ness himself until 1895, making seventeen years alto- 
gether in this line, during which time he kept about 
thirty cows on an average. 

This farm contained origin all v about one hundred and 
fifty acres, but Mr. Til- 
ton has added thereto 
by purchase from time 
to time, until it now 
embraces four hundred 
and thirty acres, upon 
wiiich there are two 
sets of buildings, while 
he has also a back pas- 
ture containing about 
two hundred acres. The 
trotting park and fair 
grounds of the Bristol 
Fair association are in- 
cluded within his farm 
limits. He has about 
one hundred acres in 
mowing and tillage, 

twenty-five acres being under the plow, of which fifteen 
are generally in corn, and ten in oats and barley, the corn 
being ensilaged, and used in supplementing the one hun- 




Zerah E. Tiltox. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 245 

dred tons of hay annually cut, along with the oats and 
barley, in feeding the forty head of cattle kept on the 
farm, together with five iiorses kept for farm work in 
the summer, and which are employed in extensive lum- 
bering operations in winter along with several yokes of 
oxen. 

On his home farm Mr. Tilton has a spacious and con- 
venient barn no feet long and 40 feet wide, with cellar 
under the whole; also two silos of 125 tons' capacity 
each. He has also a steam mill for doing various kinds 
of work on the farm, grinding grain, making cider, and 
preparing stove wood for market. For a few years past 
he has made a specialty of Holstein cows, of which he 
has now about twenty, the milk from the same going to 
the Boston market. 

Mr. Tilton was united in marriage with Miss Georgie- 
anna Weeks of Bristol, May 22, 1887. He is a charter 
member of New Found Lake grange, was its first over- 
seer, and served two years as master. Politically, he is 
a Democrat, and has been the candidate of his party for 
various offices, but residing in a strong Republican town, 
has never been elected. 



ERASMUS D. COMINGS, 
Croydon. 

Erasmus Darwin Comings was the seventh of the eight 
children of Fenno and Rebecca (Smart) Comings, born 
in Berlin, Vt., June 17, 1826. The family were origi- 
nally from Connecticut and settled in Cornish, N. H. 
Left an orphan at three and a half years by his father's 
death, he aided his motlier till the age of eighteen, 
when he taught his first school, and afterwards attended 
the Newbury, Vt., Seminary, conducting the singing in 
that institution. 



246 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



With a decided taste for vocal music, he was under the 
instruction of the celebrated Lowell Mason, in Boston, 
for a few months, and soon after commenced his long 
and useful career as a teacher of singing-schools. For 
forty winters continuously, nearly every evening of each 
week he was thus employed in Croydon and adjoining 
towns ; besides leading choirs in Newport for twenty- 
five years, helping to start the " Sullivan County Musi- 
cal Association," and conducting the singing most 
acceptably at several hundred funerals, down to the 
present time. 

His farming operations commenced in Calitbrnia in 

i852-'53, where he 
harvested one hun- 
dred acres of barley, 
and afterwards, being, 
with his partner, ac- 
customed to the use 
of tools, they worked 
for several weeks on a 
wharf and bridge at 
Stockton for eight dol- 
lars per day each. 
On returning to New 
Hampshire, he added 
an adjoining farm to 
the old homestead of 
his father-in-law, Na- 
th a n i e 1 Humphrey, 
thus securing one of 
the largest sugar orchards in the town ot Croydon. It 
contains some 1,500 trees, in the management of which he 
keeps abreast of the times in all improvements for sugar- 
ing, and has found his net profits averaging $250 a year, 
— some years as high as $500. He uses, and for thirty 




Erasmus D. Comings. 



248 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

years has held an agency for, the evaporator now manu- 
factured by the " Vermont Farm Machine Co.," of Bel- 
lows Falls. 

This homestead he still occupies, having replaced the 
old barn burned a few years ago, with another — one of 
the best and most convenient in town, at a cost of $1,000. 
He is also quite extensively engaged in the raising of 
poultry, chiefly of the Plymouth Rock variety, with com- 
modious, well-arranged quarters, as appear in the left 
of the picture. 

In town affairs. Captain Comings has held every im- 
portant office, and has served as moderator twenty-five 
3'ears (from i864-'8o, consecutively), longer than any 
other citizen of Croydon. In the cause of his country 
he enlisted a company, with Capt. J. W. Putnam, from 
Newport and vicinity, in September, 1861, himself being 
lieutenant, and was mustered into the service with the 
New Hampshire Sixth regiment in December following. 
Joining General Burnside's expedition, he was stranded 
at Hatteras Inlet, in the steamship Louisiana^ operated 
in that part of North Carolina ; was promoted to captain 
of Company H in September, 1862, and was discharged 
for disability in January, 1863. 

Captain Comings married Caroline Susan Humphrey, 
January 20, 185S. Their only daughter and oldest 
child, Alice Vienne, born in 1851, excelled in music, 
was graduated at the Boston Conservatory, and taught 
very successfully in Illinois and Michigan, till her 
lamented death, as Mrs. Orrin F. Hill, at the age of 
thirty-four years. Of their two sons, Arthur Eugene 
died highly respected in Colon, Mich., aged twenty-six, 
and Ellsworth Darwin now resides in Crovdon. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 249 

SAMUEL TITUS NOYES, 

COLEBROOK. 

The subject of this sketch was born in Columbia, April 
25, 1846, being the youngest of ten children of Asa and 
Lydia (Eaton) Noyes. His parents, who were very 
poor, having suffered the loss of crops by frosts for sev- 
eral years, removed, soon after his birth, to East Cole- 
brook, where Mr. Noyes now resides. His early 
inclinations were literary, and he fondly hoped to acquire 
a liberal education. After attending the town schools, he 
pursued his studies at Colebrook Academy and the New- 
bury (Vt.) Seminary ; but when he realized that he was 
needed at home to care tor his parents, who were becom- 
ing aged, he relinquished the cherished hope and heartily 
turned his attention to agriculture. 

As a farmer, Mr. Noyes has been characterized by an 
intelligent purpose to be governed by scientific principles 
in the various branches of practical agriculture. He 
early realized the advantage of intusing the blood of the 
thoroughbred into his stock of horses, cattle, sheep, and 
swine. In sheep raising his object was the best cross- 
bred sheep possible. The foundation stock was 
Leicestershire, purchased in Canada, crossed with South- 
down. Later the Shropshire was introduced, and at 
present the Cheviot is used. The result of this breeding 
is a flock of fifty fine sheep and lambs which have taken 
first premium whenever shown. 

Mr. Noyes was among the first to introduce Durham 
cattle, having purchased at a very high price some 
thoroughbreds in Burlington, V"t., and Canada. Several 
farmers of the vicinitv availed themselves of the opportu- 
nity to secure male calves, and in a few years the herds 
of East Colebrook were greatly improved. In 1886, 
when the beef industry became unprofitable, through the 



250 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



kindly advice of J. L. Gerrish of Webster, he purchased 
a Guernsey bull, fully believing that it would be more 
advantap^eous to produce butter than beef, and has since 
made a specialty of dairying. The grade Guernse3's have 
proved very desirable, removing all doubts which may 
have originally existed. In 1895, Mr. Noyes purchased 
four thoroughbred cows and heifers, and now has a herd 
of forty thoroughbreds and grades, headed by " Rosa's 
Rydale," the fourth bull used, and royally bred. The 
mature cows produce 
an average of 300 
pounds of butter each 
per annum, and the 
herd of twenty-five 
cows and heifers <ri\es 
promise of a net an- 
nual product of 6,000 
pounds. 

The skimmed milk 
is fed to calves and 
Chester-White pigs, 
the latter being fat- 
tened in the fall and 
the available portions 
used for sausage, of 
which he makes some 
eight hundred pounds 

annually, selling above the market price. The but- 
ter and cheese made from this herd are of a superior 
quality. The butter shown at the dairy exhibit in con- 
nection with the winter meeting of the State Dairyman's 
association at Lancaster in December, 1895, scored 
ninety-seven and three-fourths points, and won the first 
premium. 

A few colts are raised on the farm, about twelve horses, 
old and young, being kept for use and for sale. 




Samukl T. Noves. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 25 1 

" Hill Top Farm" has, in the past fifteen years, been 
improved until at present it produces annually from 80 
to 100 tons of hay, 1,500 l)usliels of potatoes, 800 bushels 
of grain, 75 to 100 tons of ensilage, 300 gallons of maple 
syrup, and a good amount of fruit, while its pasturage is 
unexcelled. 

Mr. Noyes, to be appreciated, must be known in home 
and social life. Much of his success is due to his exxel- 
lent wife. Ibrmerl}- Miss Anna Donnelly, who is a model 
homemaker. Mr. and Mrs. Noyes are genial as host 
and hostess, always pleased to entertain not only their 
intimate friends, but also a large circle of acquaintances. 
They have but one child, Alice, the wife of Rev. I. C. 
Brown, of the M. E. church, a vounger daughter, Hattie 
Ellen, having died from tl^e dread scourge diphtheria, at 
the age of eleven years. Thev delight especially in the 
visits of their three grandchildren, Lena Mae, Glad^•s 
Alice, and S. Noyes, in whom many hopes are centered. 
They are members of the M. E. church at East Cole- 
brook, and are leaders in all its lines of work. Current 
events are discussed in their home with marked interest, 
and attention is given to an excellent library, comprising 
works of fiction, romance, biography, history, science, 
agriculture, and religion. 

As a 3'Oung man Mr. Noyes allied himself with the 
Republican part}', and received some honors at its hands. 
In 1884, he was attracted to the Prohibition party by its 
sublime purpose and virtue, according to his conception, 
and he has since been an active Prohibitionist. He is 
content in his avocation, and asks for no higher calling — 
no greater opportunities in life. He honors his work, 
and is in return ennobled by it. His own words, used in 
an address of welcome to the State Board of Agriculture 
at a Farmers' Institute in Grange hall, East Colebrook, 
in October, 1896, give an insight of his conception of 



252 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

the privileges and duties of farm life : " Grand, indeed, 
is it to be allied to this calling. It is an honor to any 
man to be a farmer. Equally sad is it for a man hav- 
ing received such an honor to fail to honor it." 



BELDEN MORGAN, 

New London. 

A representative New England farmer of the staid, 
independent type, more prevalent a generation since than 
now, is Belden Morgan of New London, whose home- 
stead, originally settled by his great-grandfather, John 
Morgan, who came from England to Manchester, Mass., 
and subsequentl}^ located here, has been owned by suc- 
cessive generations in direct descent, from its settlement 
to the present day. 

This farm was one of the first settled in this fine old 
agricultural town, and is located on the highest point of 
land within its limits, in the southwestern portion, about 
two miles from New London village, eight miles west 
from Kearsarge mountain, and two miles east of Sunapee 
lake. Here Belden, son of William and Mary (Stevens) 
Morgan, was born October 8, 1824, and here he has 
spent his life, with the exception of a few years in Lowell, 
Mass., and in Manchester. 

In April, 1855, Mr. Morgan was united in marriage 
with Miss Susan A. Merrill of Lovell, Maine, by whom 
he has three children, a daughter and two sons — Flora 
B., Fred S., and John K. Morgan, all living at home, and 
the sons actively and earnestlv devoted to the same call- 
ing which tlieir ancestors have successfully pursued. 

The home farm embraces about 200 acres of land, and 
aside from this they have some 300 acres of pasture and 
woodland. The soil is strong and productive, well 




Belden Morgan. 



254 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

adapted for nearly all kinds of crops grown in this 
region, and especially for wheat, of which, until quite 
recently, fine crops were always raised, the flour for 
family use being made therefrom, as was the custom in 
earlier days so generally in the hill towns of the state ; 
but of late wheat has not been raised to any great extent, 
from the fact that there are now no good flour mills in 
the vicinit}-. 

Mixed farming has always been pursued on this place. 
About fifty acres of land are in mowing and tillage, pro- 
ducing annually, upon an average, fifty tons of hay, 500 
bushels of corn on the ear, 100 bushels of barley, 100 
bushels of potatoes, and a variety of other crops, with a 
fair supply of fruit. The stock kept consists of cattle, 
horses, sheep, and swine, the cattle including about ten 
milch cows, the cream from whose product, raised in a 
cooler, is sold at the creamery in Sutton, five miles dis- 
tant. 

The farm buildings are convenient and substantial, 
including a good two-story house and a barn 40X90 feet, 
a new barn also being planned. The putting in of a silo 
is also contemplated. 

Mr. Morgan is a fair specimen of that class of farmers 
who, in New Hampshire as well as elsewhere, prosper 
by attending strictly to the business in which they are 
engaged. He has never held or sought public office of 
any kind ; belongs to no church, and no secret organiza- 
tion of any description, maintains a clear conscience and 
votes the Democratic ticket. He is a good farmer, a 
good neighbor, and a good citizen ; is content with his 
lot, honors his calling, and with his worthy family about 
him, enjovs the fruit of his labor. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCflES. 255 

HON. GEORGE A. WASON, 

New Boston. 

One of the most familiar names in agricultural and 
Grange circles in New Hampshire is that of George 
Austin Wason, who, although residing for a considerable 
portion of the time for the last few years in a pleasant 
home on Main street, in the thriving city of Nashua, 
retains his legal abode in his native town of New Bos- 
ton, as well as the proprietorship and management of 
the old homestead upon which he was born and reared. 

The youngest of nine children of Robert and Nancy 
(Bachelder) Wason, he was born September 17, 1831. 
He was educated in the district school and a select 
school in New Boston, and at the Francestown academy. 
Following the pursuit of agriculture, he came, upon his 
father's decease, into the possession of the homestead, 
which the latter had received from an uncle, whom he 
came to New Boston to care for in early life, near the 
close of the last century. 

This farm embraces 475 acres, of which about 75 acres 
are mowing and tillage, and the balance pasturage and 
woodland, except that a pond of about twenty-tive acres 
in extent is included within its limits. For about twenty- 
five years Mr. Wason was actively engaged in raising 
thorough-bred Devon stock, attaining much success in 
that direction. While tlius engaged he took a lively 
interest in all organizations and agencies calculated to 
promote the general prosperity of the agriculture of the 
state. He was for three years president of the Hills- 
borough County Agricultural society, and following its 
dissolution, was for an equal length of time at the head 
of the Piscataquog Valley Fair association. 

Mr. Wason entered early and heartily into the Grange 
movement in this state, having been a charter member 







■>*p"" 







Hon. George A. Wasox. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 257 

and the first Master of Joe English Grange of New Bos- 
ton, and servHig two terms since, as IVIaster of the same 
organization. He was elected Overseer of the State 
Grange in 1877, and Master in 1S79, serving in the latter 
capacity four years and devoting much lime and labor to 
the work. In 1883 he was appointed a member of the 
board of trustees of the New Hampshire College of Agri- 
culture and the Mechanic Arts, and has been reappointed 
continuously to the present time, being one of the most 
devoted and interested members of the board, and through 
long sevice thoroughly tamiliar with the work of the insti- 
tution. He also served for two terms, previous to 1895, 
as a member of the State Board of Agriculture for Hills- 
borough county. 

In public and political life Mr. Wason has been active 
and prominent for many years, and has been particularly 
influential in the Republican party in the county of 
Hillsborough, having been a member of the board of 
count}" commissioners tbr six years from 1877, and 
actively engaged in the management of county affairs. 
In 1883 he was elected to the state senate in the old Six- 
teenth district, serving one term. In 1890, and again 
in 1892, he was chosen a member of the house of repre- 
sentatives from New Boston, and was closely identified 
with all measures enacted in the interest of agriculture. 
In 1894 he was again elected to the senate, trom the new 
Eighth district. 

Mr. Wason was the leading spirit in the movement for 
the construction of the New Boston railroad, by which 
the advantages of railway communication were secured 
for his native town, and has been a director and presi- 
dent of the road from the start, and has been interested 
in all measures and movements calculated to promote 
the interests of the town. At his farm, where he now 
keeps trom twenty-five to thirty-five head of cattle, three 
17 



258 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

horses, and about forty sheep, he is principally engaged 
at present in making cream for Whipple's famous New 
Boston creamery. 

In September, 1863, Mr. Wason was united in mar- 
riage with Clara Louise, daughter of Sidney and Louisa 
(Trull) Hills of New Boston, by whom he has three 
sons, the oldest, Edward H., being a well-known law- 
yer of Nashua ; George B. of the firm of Wason & Co., 
61 Chatham street, Boston; and Robert S., a graduate 
of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, now with 
Wason & Co. 



JOHN C. MILLS, 

DUNBARTON. 

Notwithstanding its rugged surface and somewhat 
isolated location, the town ofDunbarton has long enjo3'ed 
a high reputation for agricultural prosperity. Among 
the worthiest and best known farmers in this old town is 
John C. Mills, who was born and has always resided on 
the homestead which was first settled by his great-grand- 
father, Thomas Mills, one of the four original settlers of 
the town, and now known as " Hillside Farm." 

Mr. Mills was born on March 8, 1825, being a son of 
John and Nancy (Bailey) Mills. He was educated in 
the common school, and has devoted his entire life to 
agriculture, with lumbering as a prominent incident. He 
has been a great reader of agricultural books and papers, 
has made a study of soils and fertilizers, and is unques- 
tionably one of the best posted men in the town on all 
matters pertaining to his occupation. His annual hay 
crop averages about eighty tons. He has an excellent 
dairy of about fifteen cows, including some superior Jer- 
;seys, and makes choice butter for private customers. He 
does not believe in ensilage for the dairy, but raises a 



\ 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 259 

considerable amount of evergreen sweet corn for supple- 
mentary fodder, which he feeds dry. His entire stock, 
including cows, numbers about thirty head of cattle, and 
three horses. He raises a large amount of fruit and vetr- 
etables, but makes potatoes a specialt}', raising six hun- 
dred or eight hundred bushels per annum. He markets 
his produce mainly in Manchester. 

Mr. Mills was a charter member and the first steward 
of Stark grange, Dunbarton, and has been one of the 

most faithful and devoted 
Patrons in the state. He 
has held nearly all the 
various offices in the 
subordinate orange, in- 
eluding that of master, 
and is now^ chaplain. 
He was an active mem- 
ber of Merrimack Coun- 
^-^'%^, '. ty Council, having been 

gatekeeper, chaplain, 
and overseer of that or- 
ganization. He has also 
been prominent in the 
Merrimack County Po- 
mona grano-e since its 
organization, and was 

for tive vears its chap- 
JoHX C. Mills. , . -r-."' 

lain. He was an active 

promoter and manager of the old Piscataquog Agricul- 
tural society, which for five years held its annual fair in 
Goffstown, and contributed largely to its success. He was 
also actively connected with the New Hampshire Agri- 
cultural society, was one of its directors for several vears, 
and was a prominent exhibitor, especially in the fruit and 
vegetable departments, at its annual fairs in Manchester. 



^^ 



\ 




26o NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

In politics, Mr. Mills has been a Republican for the 
last thirty years. He has been town clerk, supervisor, 
four years selectman, and has held other responsible 
offices at the hands of his townsmen, frequently having 
been selected as the agent of the town in the conduct of 
suits at law. He was actively instrumental in the work 
of securing daily mail facilities for the town. In religion, 
he is a Congregationalist. 

Mr. Mills was united in marriage April 15, 1847, with 
Miss Fanny Kezer of Hopkinton, by whom he has had 
three children — John B. Mills, now a journalist in Grand 
Rapids, Mich., Sarah A., who died in 1873, and George 
F., who resides witli him at the home in Dunbarton. 



CHARLES H. WATERHOUSE, 

Cornish. 

No one instrumentality has done more to advance the 
interests of New England agriculture, or improve the 
condition of the New England housewife than the intro- 
duction of the creamery process of butter manufacture. 
The pioneer in this work in the state of New Hampshire 
was Charles H. Waterhouse of Barrington, now of Cor- 
nish, and to him, more than to any other man, is the 
state indebted for the reputation for excellence which its 
butter product has secured and maintains in the market 
of the country. 

Mr. Waterhouse is a native of the town of Barrington, 
born September 17, 1835, ^"<^ ^^^^^ ^^'^^ home there until 
eifi'hteen years of age, securing such education as he was 
able to gain in the old " Hale school-house" in that 
town. Starting out in life for himself, at the age men- 
tioned, with a capital consisting of a fairly good suit of 
clothes, a pair of blue drilling overalls, a two dollar bill 



PERSONAI. AND FARM SKETCHES. 261 

of the old Strafford bank of Dover, and a good stock of 
energy and ambition, he made his wa}' to Massachusetts. 
He secured a position at Tewksbury as assistant super- 
intendent of the state ahnshouse, and was engaged three 
years in that capacity, acting the last year, also, as 
superintendent of the farm connected with that institution. 
Leaving Tevvksbur}', lie was for one year superintendent 
of the city almshouse in Charlestown, Mass., and then 
removed to Dover, where he was encraged in business as 
a butcher for another period of three years ; but, the 
Rebellion being in progress, he responded to the call of 
his country, and, August 11, 1862, enlisted in Company 
H, Eleventh New Hampshire regiment, for three years. 
During his army service he was engaged a large portion 
of the time in the commissary department, his experi- 
ence fitting him admirably for the work. For seventeen 
months he had charge of the provisioning of twelve thou- 
sand men. 

On returning at the close of the war, Mr. Waterhouse 
purchased a farm in Barrington, which he still owns, 
and on which he resided for twenty-one years, actively 
engaged in its cultivation and management, and also 
extensivelv engaged as a dealer in cattle. It was on this 
farm in 1876 that he established the first creamery ever 
put in operation in the state, whicii he continued with a 
constantly increasing popularity for the product, until 
the demand so far exceeded the supply that a change to 
a better milk-producing locality seemed imperative. In 
1885, therefore, he went to Short Falls in the town of 
Epsom, a favorable location in the Suncook valley, 
where the farmers had become interested in that direc- 
tion, and a cooperative creamery was established, under 
his management. Here he continued for three years, 
during which time the Short Falls creamery became 
noted throughout New England. Subsequently he man- 




Charles H. VVaterhouse. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 263 

aged a creamery one year at Strafford Centre, and in 
May, 1889, went to Cornish to take charge of the Hill- 
side creamery, then building in the Connecticut valley, 
opposite the thriving village of Windsor, Vt., whose 
principal stock-holders were Hon. William M. Evarts and 
C. C. Beaman, the president of the corporation being 
Hon. Chester Pike. 

Here Mr. Waterhouse has remained to the present 
time, devoting all his skill and energv to the enterprise 
in charge, with such success that Hillside creamery but- 
ter holds first rank in iVmerica, winning the highest score 
at the Columbian exposition dairy exhibit in Chicago, as 
well as in all minor competitions. The average annual 
product of this creamery, which, by the way, employs 
the separator system, is about $50,000. 

Mr. Waterhouse lias been more actively and promi- 
nently identified with the dairy interest than an}^ other 
man in New Hampshire, as evidenced not only by 
pioneer efforts and continued and conspicuous success in 
creamer}' work, having won more butter premiums than 
any other man in America, including $90 at the National 
exhibition in Madison Square Garden, New York, while 
in charge of the Short Falls creamery, but also by his 
intimate connection with organized effort for advancing 
its prosperit}'. He was one of the prime movers in the 
organization of the Granite State Dairymen's association, 
called the first meeting held in furtherance of that object, 
and has been first vice-president of the association tVom 
the start, contributing to its success in large measure, 
both in the exhibition department and in its public meet- 
ings and discussions. He has also been frequently called 
to active participation in the work of dairy associations 
in other states. During the past winter Mr. Waterhouse 
was in charge of the Dairy School of Instruction at the 
New Hampshire College of Agriculture in Durham. 



264 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

Although still retaining his Barrington farm of 135 
acres, upon which his oldest son resides, upon taking 
charge of the creamer}' at Cornish he purchased there a 
farm of 235 acres, fifty of which is in tillage, and with a 
feeding capacity for forty cows, and upon which he has 
heen making extensive improvements, including the 
erection of one of the best appointed, thoroughly, venti- 
lated, and completely equipped barns to be found in New 
England. It is 140X35 feet in dimensions, and without 
cellar, the manure being carefully removed, twice a day, 
to a shed. The Durham is the favorite dairy cow with 
Mr. Waterhouse, and his feeding specialty is clover and 
ensilage. As an incident to the dair}' business, he 
engages quite extensively in pork production, turning oft' 
on an average about 80 hogs per year. 

Mr. Waterhouse was a charter member of Barrington 
Grange, organized in 1876, and was its lecturer for 
several years. Subsequently he transferred his member- 
ship to Bow Lake Grange, Straftbrd, where he still con- 
tinues the same. He is a member of Straftbrd Lodge, 
F. & A. M., of Dover, and of the G. A. R. In religion, 
he is a Free Baptist and politically a Republican. While 
in Barrington he took a prominent part in public aftairs, 
and was honored by his townsmen with every oftice in 
their gift, including that of representative in the general 
court. 

In 1858, he was united- in marriage with Nancy I., 
daughter of Daniel Caverh^ of Barrington, by whom he 
has three children now living, two sons and a daughter. 
The eldest son, C. Frank, remains on the homestead, the 
second, Daniel C, resides at Epsom, while the daugh- 
ter is the wife of Newell B. Foss of Straftbrd. His wife 
dying in 1887, Mr. Waterhouse married in the year 
following, Ella, daughter of Demeritt Place, of Straftbrd. 



PERSONAL AND FARIM SKETCHES. 



265 



MILTON B. WADLEIGH, 

Sutton. 

The name of Wadleigh was conspicuous in the early 
history of the rugged little town of Sutton, among the 
foot-hills of old Kearsarge, and representatives of the 
family have been among its most prominent citizens 
down to the present time. 

Robert Wadleifih came from England and located in 
Exeter previous to 166S. He was a prosperous citizen 

and in 1680 is shown 
by the record to have 
been the heaviest tax- 
payer but one in the 
town. His son Thomas 
w^as a soldier in the 
French and Indian War 
and one of the original 
proprietors of Sutton. 
He was the father of 
Capt. Jonathan, w^hose 
son, Benjamin Wad- 
leigh, Sr., was tlie sev- 
enth settler of the town, 
removing there from 
Hampstead in 1771? 
and settling on what 
has ever since been 
known as the Wadleigh homestead, about a mile from 
Sutton Mills and a mile and a quarter from North Sutton, 
upon a hillside overlooking what is now known as Key- 
sar Lake, and commanding an extended mountain view. 
This Benjamin Wadleigh, Sr., was chosen clerk and 
selectman at the tirst town-meeting in Sutton, held in 
1777, and was also the first justice of the peace in town. 




Milton B. Wadleigh. 



266 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



His son, Benjamin Wadleigh, Jr., was also prominent in 
public affairs, and for many years a judge of the court 
of common pleas. The latter was the father of Erastus 
Wadleigh, who was born on the old homestead, and 
resided there until 1867, when he removed to the Mill 
village, where he died in 18S1. He was prominent in 
town affairs and in educational work, having been a 
successful teacher and for many years superintendent of 
school- 
Milton B., son of Erastus and Almina (Challis) Wad- 
leigh was born December 4, 1839, """^'^^ educated in the 



« 











The Wadleigh Mansion. 

common schools and at New London academy, and has 
devoted his life to the pursuit of agriculture upon the 
ancestral acres, large additions having been made from 
time to time to the original farm of 150, so that there are 
now about 300 acres in the home place, with outlying 
woodland and pasture to the extent of about 2,000 acres 
in all, including a frontage of half a mile or more on the 
finest shore of the beautiful Keysar Lake. 

Mr. Wadleigh was engaged for many years in the 
production of beef, wool, and mutton, keeping from 150 to 



PERSONAL AND I ARM SKETCHES. 267 

175 sheep and raising young cattle also quite extensively. 
He keeps now from 30 to 40 head of cattle, five horses 
and about 75 sheep, having reduced tiie latter in num- 
bers, but improving the quality by the introduction of 
the Shropshire blood from the well-known Keyes stock 
at Haverhill. In his farm operations he has practised 
rotation of land from pasture to field for many years 
with very satistactory results. His annual hay crop is 
from 80 to 100 tons, while he harvests about 500 bushels 
of ears of corn, from 300 to 600 bushels of potatoes, and 
a good amount of fruit, witli promise of an increase in 
the latter, from a large number of young truit-trees. 

Aside from his farm work, Mr. Wadleigh has been 
for several years past extensively engaged in lumbering. 
He is also the principal owner and moving spirit in the 
Sutton creamery, and the leading promoter and treasurer 
of the Merrimack County Telephone company, which 
has established a line from Bradford to North Sutton and 
around the lake. 

In politics, Mr. Wadleigh is a Republican, and in 
religion, a Baptist. He has served two years on the 
board of selectmen. He is a member of the Sons of 
Temperance, is unmarried, and at the present time the 
only representative of the Wadleigh tamily in town. 



SIDNEY B. WHITTEMORE, 

COLEEROOK. 

One of the most active, energetic, and well-known 
men in agricultural circles, as well as in public and 
political life in northern New Hampshire, is Sidney B. 
Whittemore, of Colebrook, son of Benjamin and Almira 
(Chandler) Whittemore, born near the farm where he 
now resides, July 21, 1839. ^^ ^^^^ educated in the com- 
mon school and at Colebrook academy, and has devoted 




Sidney B. Whittemore. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 269 

himself actively to agricultural pursuits upon this farm, 
to which the family removed when he was fourteen years 
of age, which was bequeathed him by his father, and 
which embraces about 250 acres of land, of which 75 
acres is wood land and the balance pasture and tillage. 

There is no better farming town in New Hampshire 
than Colebrook, and this tarm is in the rich, rolling, 
upland region some four miles east of Colebrook village, 
and produces abundant crops, including on an average 
75 tons of hay, 300 bushels of oats, 1,200 bushels of 
potatoes, and 100 bushels of buckwheat per annum. Mr. 
Whittemore was one of the first to introduce pure bred 
Short Horn Durham cattle into his section of the state, 
and was for many years successfully engaged in breeding 
them. Later he turned his attention to butter making, but 
for the last tew years he has sold milk in the village of 
Colebrook. He keeps about fifteen horses, brood mares 
and colts, and has probably raised from calves more 
fancy matched steers than any other man in Coos 
county. Aside from his immediate farm work, he has 
also been largely engaged for many years in the pur- 
chase and shipment of potatoes and other agricultural 
products. 

Mr. Whittemore became a member of Mohawk 
Grange, No. 28, when it was organized by C. C. Shaw 
and Col. D. M. Clough, March 30, 1874. ^^ was 
chosen secretary and continued to hold the oflice until 
the grange surrendered its charter. Upon its reorgan- 
ization at East Colebrook, Dec. 7, 1894, he was elected 
master, and his wife lecturer, in wliich offices they are 
now serving their third terms, decidedly against their 
own wishes, but at the urgent solicitation of their 
fellow Patrons. He was also chosen master of Upper 
Coos Pomona Grange upon its organization, and has 
since continued in the office, serving also as a district 



270 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

deputy of the State Grange. In 1881 he was appointed 
member of the state board of agriculture for Coos 
county and served efficiently for three terms in that 
capacity. He was also for three terms, from 1885, a 
member of the board of trustees of the New Hampshire 
College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts, and was 
actively interested in the removal of that institution from 
Hanover to Durham, devoting much time to the work of 
establishing the college in its new home. 

In politics, Mr. Whittemore is an earnest and consis- 
tent Democrat, and has served his party and the public 
faithfully six years as selectman, five years as a member 
of the school-board under tlie town system, collector 
of taxes five years, as moderator for many years, and as 
representative in the legislature in i885-'86. He was 
also for two years a deputv sheriff', and two } ears 
treasurer of Coos county, — 1875 '^"^ 1876. He has been 
an active member of the Democratic state committee for 
a long series of years, and at the last national election 
was one of the regular Democratic candidates for Presi- 
dential elector. 

May I, 1861, Mr. Whittemore was united in marriage 
with Emeline Corbett, daughter of Jesse and Hannah G. 
Corbett, of Stewartstown. They have two sons, Albert 
Frank, clerk in Colby's store at Colebrook village, and 
Everett Sidney, a member of the class of 1897 in the 
New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Me- 
chanic Arts, at Durham. 

In early life Mr. Whittemore became a member of the 
Masonic fraternity, and has since been active in the 
organization. He is also a member of the Knights of 
Honor, Knights of Pythias, Red Men, and the Order of 
the Eastern Star, with which latter organization his wife 
has been prominently connected. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



271 



EDWIN I. WELLINGTON, 

RiNDGE. 

Edwin I. Wellington, the subject of this sketch, is of 
the eighth generation in direct descent from Roger 
Wellington, the emigrant, who settled in Watertown, 
Mass., previous to 1690, being the second son of Ivers 
and Mary (Townsend) Wellington of Rindge, born in 
that town, January 29, 1S60. He was educated in the 
common school and engaged in business with his father, 

in farming and lum- 

berinc- With a view to 
the improvement of his 
health, lie spent the 
winter of 1882-83 in 
Florida, where he also 
enoao-ed in lumberincr 
operations, at Cedar 
Keyes, Pal ma Sola. 

In October, 1888, he 
made an eno^agement 
with the Cheshire Im- 
provement company to 
act as overseer, contin- 
uing in that capacity 
two years, and so thor- 
oughly to the accept- 
ance of the company that his compensation was in- 
creased live times during the continuance of the engage- 
ment. During this term of service he worked for some 
time with one of the best gardeners in the country, gain- 
ino- from that association and experience much valuable 
practical knowledge in that line. 

Resigning his position with the Improvement com- 
pany, he commenced farming for himself, in Conner- 




^ 



Edwin I. Wellington. 



272 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

tion with lumbering, purchasing land from time to time 
until he had about 400 acres. His father having died, 
the care of the home estate, of 215 acres more, also fell to 
his hands. In his agricultural operations he has devoted 
himself largely and successfully to market gardening, 
with potatoes as a leading crop, of which he raised 900 
bushels last year. 

With a large amount of timber on his land, in order to 
be able to dispose of the same most advantageously he 
purchased the extensive mill property of Deacon O. D. 
Converse, and has fitted the mills with the best new and 
improved machinery, where he is preparing his lumber 
for market in all desirable forms and also cutting large 
quantities of wood. He has also a grist-mill and shingle- 
mill attached, making the business a varied and exten- 
sive one. 

Mr. Wellington married, Decmber 23, 1S85, Emma 
A., daughter of Cecil and Eunice (Shepard) Wellington 
of Ashby, Mass., an intelligent and accomplished young 
woman, who has been a faithful and sympathizing com- 
panion. They have had five children — Lilla S., Mary 
E., Mark E., Thurza who died in infancy, and E. Olive. 
, In politics, Mr. Wellington is a Republican, but 
through often urged to be a candidate for public office 
he has ir. variably refused. Some years ago, when 
importuned to accept a nomination for member of the 
school-board, he suggested that his wife, having been an 
experienced and successful teacher and being greatly in- 
terested in education, was better fitted for the place, and 
at his request she consented to be a candidate, was elected, 
and has now served five years. 

Mr. and Mrs. Wellington are active working members 
of Marshall P. Wilder Grange, No. 134, of Rindge. 
He has served two years as overseer and is the present 
master of the Grange. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 273 

Their residence is on the old homestead of William 
Kimball, Mr. Wellington's maternal great-grandfather, 
in the little villatre of Converseville. He is now buildinix 
a summer residence on the eastern shore of beautiful Lake 
Monomonock in Rindo-e. 



COL. WILLIAM H. STINSON, 

DUNBARTON. 

From his active interest and conspicuous position in 
the Grange, and his prominent connection with the 
Grange State Fair Association, the name of Col. William 
H. Stinson, of Dunbarton, is among the most familiar in 
the state, in agricultural and Grange circles. Colonel 
Stinson is of Scotch-Irish ancestry, a great-grandson of 
Capt. William Stinson, who came to this country from 
the north of Ireland, with his father, John Stinson, when 
seven years of age, and who settled in what is now Dun- 
barton, in 1747, establishing his home on land now in- 
cluded in the Stinson farm. Captain Stinson prospered 
in his labors, acquired an extensive estate, and became a 
prominent figure in the early history of the town. His 
son William inherited a part of the farm, and in turn 
transmitted it to his son, William C, the father of Col. 
William H., who was an enterprising and progressive 
farmer, and a prominent and influential citizen of Dun- 
barton. 

William H. Stinson, son of William C. and Sarah E. 
(Poor) Stinson, was born on the family homestead, July 
21, 185 1. He enjoyed the usual common school advan- 
tages, and subsequently attended Appleton academ}^ at 
Mont Vernon, and Pembroke academy. Ill health pre- 
vented his pursuing a collegiate course, and he returned 
to the parental home, and the pursuits of the farm. 
18 




C(jj.. Wii.LiA.M H. Stinson. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 275 

When the Grange movement was inaugurated in the 
state, he became interested in the same, and early became 
an active member of Stark Grange, No. 42, in which 
organization he filled the positions oflecturer and master, 
several terms each. In 1879, ^^ was chosen secretary of 
the State Grange, and appointed general deputy, hold- 
ing these offices four years, when he became master of 
the State Grange ; and was subsequently chosen assistant 
steward of the National Grange. After three years 
of faithful service as state master, the same being signal- 
ized by the marked prosperity of the order throughout the 
state, he resigned, his entire attention then being demanded 
by his increasing duties as a special agent of the United 
States Bureau of Labor, under Col. Carroll D. Wricrht. 
by whom he had been appointed upon the organization of 
the bureau, and by whom he was continued, and placed 
in the ranking division upon the reorganization of the 
same into the present Department of Labor. This posi- 
tion he held for seven years, when he resigned, and 
in April, 1895, he returned to the old family homestead 
in Dunbarton, and resumed the life of an active, practi- 
cal farmer, in which he has since been engaged, his 
leading specialty being the raising of milk for the Bos- 
ton market. This farm, wliich, aside from outlands, 
embraces about 400 acres, is located about a mile and a 
half from Dunbarton village, and three miles from "Par- 
ker's," the nearest railway station, the situation being 
most delightful from a scenic point of view. The soil 
is strong, and yields generous returns to intelligent cul- 
tivation. The buildings are ample, including a barn 140 
feet long, provided with every convenience, while the 
best of improved machinery is used in all farm opera- 
tions. Colonel Stinson believes in the silo, and carries 
his belief into practical effect. 

He was one of the pioneers in the movement for the 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 277 

organization of the New Hampshire Grange State Fair, 
was the first president of the association, subsequently 
served as vice-president, and at the annual meeting in 
Januar}', 1897, was again chosen president. He was also 
a member of the executive committee of the State Grange 
in 1894 and 1895, and has ever retained and manifested 
a strong interest in the welfare of the order, and the 
cause which it represents. 

Colonel Stinson was united in marriage, in 1885, with 
Ellen F., eldest daughter of Dea. W. H. Conant, of Mont 
Vernon, bv whom he has five children — three sons and 
two daughters. While engaged in departmental work 
he made his home in Mont Vernon, and was a member 
of the School Board three 3'ears. In religion, he is a 
Congregationalist, and in politics, Republican. He was 
chosen town clerk of Dunbarton at the age of twenty- 
one years, and subsequently served as chairman of the 
board of selectmen, treasurer, collector, and member of 
the School Board, holding this latter position at the 
present time. He was engrossing clerk for the legisla- 
ture of i88i-'82, and gained his rank as colonel from 
service as an aide on the staff of Gov. Charles H. Bell. 



JACOB SANBORN, 
Laconia. 

The lower portion of the old town of Meredith, lying 
between Long and Great Bays (the latter now known as 
Lake Winnesquam), which was severed to constitute the 
town of Laconia in 1855, is in the main admirably adapted 
for agricultural purposes, especially in the lines of dairy- 
ing and stock raising, abundant hay production, under 
proper treatment, being a leading characteristic of the 
soil. It contains manv excellent farms, among the best 



278 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



of which is that of Jacob Sanborn, formerly a part of the 
" 'Squire" John Smith place, situated about three miles 
up from the Laconia railway station. 

The home place embraces about sixty acres of land, 
of which the greater portion is in mowing and tillage, the 
buildings consisting of a substantial two-story farm man- 
sion, a fine barn, 90x42 feet, with cellar under the whole, 
with the necessary outbuildings. Mr. Sanborn also owns 
other land, some in the immediate vicinity and some at a 

distance — the latter in- 
cluding a farm in Gil- 
ford — to the amount of 
about 500 acres alto- 
gether. 

Mr. Sanborn is a na- 
tive of Moultonborough 
— a son of William H. 
and Sally Dame San- 
born, born January 13, 
1843. He removed with 
his parents to Gilford 
in childhood, and was 
early inured to farm 
labor in its most exact- 
ing forms. He came 
Jacoi; Saxhorn. , ^ • 1 1 

to the Smith place at 

the age of about eighteen years, and took charge of the 
farm work for Miss Polly Smith, continuing in her ser- 
vice until her death some fifteen years later, and so laith- 
fully and satisfactorily performing his duty that the farm 
itself was left him by Miss Smith at her decease. 

From boyhood, Mr. Sanborn has been an ardent lover 
of good cattle, especially delighting in the rearing and 
training of steers, and he has made the same a specialty 
the greater portion of his life. His ox teams have been 











^ 


r^^ 




i^^V 


1 


m^ 



28o NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

among the finest in the county, both in appearance and 
efficiency, and under his direction have accomplished a 
vast amount of work, the same being extensively sought 
for wherever powerful service in that line was required. 
He has raised cattle to sell, both for beef and working 
oxen, in great numbers, breeding many himself and buy- 
ing others when young. Probably no man in the state is 
a better judge of the good points of young stock than 
Mr. Sanborn, and he has seldom made a mistake in the 
selection of an animal. He lias raised different breeds, 
at one time being largely devoted to the Durham, but of 
late his cattle have largely been Hereford grades. He 
has now (1897) twenty-six oxen and steers, and also 
keeps five horses and a few cows, but has never engaged 
to any extent in dairying. He mows some fortv acres of 
land, and has about ten acres under the plow. As showing 
the strength of the soil and the measure of fertilization 
employed, it may be noted that from a field of seven acres, 
in one season with two crops, he took upwards of twentv- 
eight tons of hav. 

Mr. Sanborn is a thorough-going, matter-of-fact sort 
of man, who always pushes his business instead of allow- 
ing it to push him. He is a Democrat in politics, but has 
no desire for public life, and it was only through being 
actually pressed into the service that he now finds him- 
self representing Ward one in the Laconia city council. 
He is a member of Winnipiseogee lodge, I. O. O. F., 
of Laconia, and a charter member of Laconia Grange, 
of which he has been treasurer and steward. He is 
also an interested member of Belknap County Pomona 
Grange. 

October 3, 1877, he was united in marriage with 
Augusta D., daughter of the late Dr. John L. Perley, a 
well-known physician of Laconia. They have one 
daughter, Pearl S., a graduate of the Laconia High 
school, of the class of 1897. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



281 



HORACE A. HILL, 
Derry. 

Acvriculture in New Hampshire may have retrograded, 
on the whole, during the last fifty years, as some main- 
tain, though it is doubtful if such is the case, notwith- 
standing the depreciation of farm property in various 
sections. If some farms have grown less productive, and 
others even returned to the forest state, there are some 

that have been greatly 
improved, meanwhile, 
and are now in better 
condition than ever be- 
fore. A fine example 
of the latter class is 
found in the farm of 
Horace A. Hill, of 
Derry, situated two 
and a half miles from 
the railway station, on 
the main road to Ches- 
ter. 

Mr. Hill, a son of 
Charles and Hannah 
T. (Hanson) Hill, was 
born on the farm, No- 




Horace A. Hill. 



vember 14, 1839, his father, a native of Chester, having 
purchased the same and established his home thereon. 
Here he grew to manhood, enjoying the advantages of 
the district school, and of Pinkerton academy at Derry 
Village. Here he has ever resided, and to the cultiva- 
tion of this farm, from which his father had succeeded, 
in some seasons, in securing scarcely enough hay to 
winter a horse and cow, the labor of his life has been 
mainly devoted, though he was for some time interested 



282 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

in lumbering, and has sold agricultural implements, to 
a considerable extent, for many years. 

His farm embraces sixty-six acres of land, of which 
about twenty-two acres are in mowing and tillage, mostly 
in a single field, which, by thorough cultivation, has been 
brought into a very productive state, the hay crop aver- 
aging two tons per acre, while he has grown 108 bushels 
of shelled corn, and potatoes at the rate of 330 bushels 
per acre. The rocks and stones have been removed and 
built into substantial walls, or buried in deep drains which 
have also materiall}' improved the condition of the soil. 
The dwelling is a substantial two-story house, while the 
barn — 67 x 38 feet — framed and constructed under Mr. 
Hill's personal direction, is one of the best-arranged in 
the count}^ affording ample storage for the forty tons of 
hay and other fodder secured, and accommodations for 
the stock, consisting generally of five or six superior 
horses and about fifteen excellent cows, the milk from 
which has in recent years been sold to Hood & Sons, of 
Derry. 

Mr. Hill has great mechanical ingenuity, and has a 
shop on the premises, where he not only shoes his horses, 
but does every variety of repairing that may be required. 
There is, in fact, no kind of work necessary to be done 
on the farm or about the buildings, carriages, or imple- 
ments, of which he has the best, which he cannot do 
with his own hands. 

In politics, Mr. Hill is a Republican, and was elected 
chairman of the board of selectmen of Derry, in March, 
1897. He is a member and officer of St. Mark's lodge, 
A. F. and A. M. ; a charter member of Nutfield Grange, 
in which he has held numerous offices, including that of 
master for two years, was also for two years master of 
the Eastern New Hampshire Pomona Grange, and four 
years a district deputy of the State Grange. He was 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 283 

for three years assistant marslial and tour years marshal 
of the New Hampshire Grange Fair, and has been 
marshal of the West Rockingham Pomona Grange Fair 
since its inception. He was active in the organization of 
the Grange Fire Insurance Company, of which he is a 
director, as he is also of tiie Patrons' Relief Association. 
In religion, he is a PresbN'terian, and is connected with 
the church at East Derry, where he has also been several 
years superintendent of the Sunday-school. 

November 3, 1869, Mr. Hill was united in marriage with 
Lizzie H., daughter of Luther Fitz of Chester, who was 
a successful teacher, and also endowed with fine literary 
ability. While neglecting none of the details of daily 
domestic duty, she has tbund time for work in other direc- 
tions, particularly in the Grange, being at the present 
time master of Nutfield Grange. They have three chil- 
dren living — twin daughters, Emma Josephine and Ella 
May, born June 9, 1S74, graduates of Pinkerton acad- 
emy, class of 1894, since engaged in teaching, and a son, 
Albert Lyon, born March 20, 1882, now a student at 
Pinkerton. 



WILLIAM E. GAY, 

Hillsborough. 

The old town ot Hillsboroutrh, though rouoh and ru<j- 
ged as to surface, is nevertheless favored with a strong 
soil, admirably adapted to grazing and dair\' purposes, 
and also productive of excellent fruit, so that with the 
exercise of judgment, skill, and industry, the pursuit of 
agriculture within its limits has been and may be attended 
with remunerative and satisfactory results. 

Perhaps no man in the entire history of the town accom- 
plished more in this line than the late William Edwin 
Gay, son of Benjamin H. and Ann D. (Stowe) Gay, born 



284 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



July 18, 1835, on the farm where he always resided, 
except during a two years' absence in early life, when he 
served as a clerk in Boston, and upon which his father 
settled after giving up the occupation of a tanner, which 
he had followed in the vicinity for many years. This 
farm, now known as " Maplewood Farm," is situated 
about two and a half miles from Hillsborough Bridge, 
near what is known as the '' Centre," and embraces about 
160 acres of land, al- 
though a considerable 
amount of outlying 
pasture and woodland 
is owned in connec- 
tion therewith. 

Mr. Gay gave to 
the cultivation and im- 
provement of this farm, 
the energy and devo- 
tion of a tireless, pur- 
poseful life, seeking 
the best results through 
the application of the 
most approved meth- 
ods, dairying and fruit „, ,, ^ 

, ." . ^ . . . . William L. Gay. 

culture beino; his lead- 

ing specialties for many years. He kept from twenty 
to thirty cows, largely Jerseys, and produced, for a 
time, upwards of 4,000 pounds of butter per annum, 
which commanded the highest market price, on account 
of its superior quality. Some two or three vears previous 
to his decease, he changed from butter to milk produc- 
tion, finding his market in a milk route at Hillsborough 
Bridge. Upon making this change, he gradually dis- 
posed of his Jerseys, substituting Ayrshires in their place, 
as the most desirable cows for milk alone. 




PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 285 

Of fruit, in whose culture he took special delight, he 
raised all kinds in abundance, and numerous varieties. 
Apples, pears, plums, peaches, apricots, and grapes were 
grown in profusion, over thirty varieties of grapes being 
included among his bearing vines. His peaches were of 
special excellence, and in one season he sold upwards of 
one hundred dollars worth of the same. He exercised 
great care not only in the cultivation, but in the harvest- 
ing, storing, and marketing of his fruits, and was partic- 
ularlv successful in preserving apples in perfect condition 
for the late winter and spring markets. 

The annual hay crop on this farm amounts to some 
seventy-five tons, and this has been supplemented with 
corn, of which several hundred bushels per annum have 
been raised, but the ensilage svstem has never been 
adopted. Potatoes are raised in considerable quantities, 
and were at one time quite a specialty. 

In some years, from fit"ty to sixty head of cattle and 
horses have been kept on the farm, the latter branch of 
stock usually including some good animals, which is the 
case at the present time. 

The location and surroundings of " Maplewood " are 
most attractive for summer boarders, and for the last thirty 
years a number of these have been accommodated here. 
So popular had the place become as a home for those 
seeking the genuine comforts of country life during the 
heated term, that, in 1892, a separate house with rooms 
for the accommodation of thirt}- or forty people, was 
erected near the farm-house, and has been filled every 
succeedincr season. 

Mr. Gay was a Republican in politics, taking much 
interest in public affairs, but never seeking office, thougli 
he was tor three years a member of the board of select- 
men. In religion, he was a Methodist, and the family 
are connected with the Methodist societv at the Centre. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



287 



Mr. Gay was a cliarter member of Valley Grange, of 
Hillsborough, taking a deep interest in the welfare of the 
organization from the first, holding many of its offices, 
including that of lecturer, to which he gave his best 
etTorts for several years, and manifesting his devotion to 
the principles of the order in all fitting ways, up to the 
time of his death, December 9, 1895. 

He was united in marriage, March 17, 1861, with Miss 
Marv J. Blanchard, of Washington. Their six children 
include four daughters 
and two sons. The 
eldest, Nellie M., is 
the wife of Charles 
Morgan, a farmer of 
Hillsborouo-h, residing 
near " M a p 1 e w o o d 
Farm." Frank D., the 
eldest son, remained 
at home, engaged with 
his father in the man- 
agement of the farm, 
until his marriage, in 
1896, when he re- 
moved to the "Bridge" 
village, but still con- 
tinues the milk busi- 
ness. Walter E., the younger son, was engaged for ten 
years in Manchester, with his uncle, R. D. Gay, but re- 
turned home upon his father's decease and his brother's 
removal, and is now actively engaged in management of 
the farm, and proposes to devote his best energies to 
agriculture as his future life-work. Julia M., a gradu- 
ate of Colby academy, who continued her studies in 
special lines in Boston and Chicago universities for two 
years, is now a teacher in the Dundee, 111., High school. 




Walter E. Gay. 



288 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE, 

Lisabel, the third daughter, a graduate of the Dundee 
High school, entered the State Normal School at Ply- 
mouth, in 1896; while Ethel A., the youngest, is yet at 
home. 



HON. JOHN C. RAY, 

Manchester. 

Although now generally known as the efiicient super- 
intendent of the State Industrial Sciiool in Manchester, 
which position he has held since 1874, Jolm C. Ray, for 
a quarter of a century previous, was one of the leading 
farmers of Merrimack county, and still owns the splendid 
farm in Dunbarton in whose cultivation he has taken so 
much pride and pleasure. Mr. Ray was born in Hop- 
kinton, January 3, 1826, but moved in childhood, with 
his father, Aaron Ray, to the farm in question, in the 
western part of Dunbarton, near the Stark place, a por- 
tion of which he has also recently purchased. After 
securing his education in the district school, and at 
Master John Ballard's famous private school in Hopkin- 
ton, Mr. Ray devoted himself to agriculture. Succeed- 
ing to the ownership of the tarm, which embraces some 
four hundred acres of land altogether, he wrought great 
improvement in its condition, quadrupling the amount of 
its hay product, and engaging extensively in stock 
breeding, lirst raising grade Shorthorns, of which the 
famous mammoth cow, the largest ever raised in the 
country, weighing 2,760 pounds, which was sold for 
$700 and exhibited all over the country, was a specimen. 
Subsequently he turned his attention to Devons, raising 
many fine pure-blood animals of this breed. He was 
long a successful exhibitor at the fairs, in which he has 
always taken an interest, having been an officer in both 
the old New Hampshire State and Merrimack County 



PERSONAI. AND FARINI SKETCHES. 289 

fairs. The superior management, and splendid Devon 
stock, of the Industrial School farm furnish ample testi- 
mony to his skill and judgment as a manager and stock 
breeder. For a long time alter iiis removal to Manches- 
ter, Mr. Ray continued the management of his Dunbar- 
ton farm, but has recently leased it, to relieve himselt of 
the care involved. Aside from this farm, he owns several 
hundred acres of land in various places, paying taxes in 
eight different towns. Notwithstanding his large expe- 
rience in public lite, and his varied duties in other direc- 
tions, his interest in agriculture is as strong as ever, and 
his chief pride is in what he has accomplished as a New 
Hampshire farmer. 



JOHN L. KELLEY, 

Franklin. 

Probably no man in New Hampshire has more effec- 
tively demonstrated the fact that agriculture even in this 
rugged section of the country, can be made profitable, 
than John L. Kelley of the " Maplewood " farm, Frank- 
lin, situated on Prospect street, or the Northfield road, a 
mile and a half out from Franklin Falls, which has long 
been known as one of the best farms in Merrimack 
county, and has been continually improving in productive 
value. 

Mr. Kelley is a native of Gilmanton, a son of Daniel 
and Sally (Weeks) Kelley, and a grandson of Micajah 
Kelley, a soldier of the Revolution. He was reared to 
farm life, but secured a good education in the common 
schools and at Gilmanton academy, and the Seminary at 
Sanbornton Bridge, now Tilton. and taught school 
winters from the age of eighteen to twenty-five. He 
engaged in farming in his native toun until 1866, when 
he bought what was then known as the Gerrish farm, in 
19 



290 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



Franklin, upon which he has since resided, and which 
he has made to yield the abundant fruits of intelligent 
industry. This farm embraces about 250 acres of land, 
conveniently located, with a soil admirably adapted to 
the production of hay, corn, potatoes, and almost all crops 
grown in this part of the country. The buildings con- 
sist of a large, old-style farm mansion, a modern cottage, 
two large barns, and all necessary outbuildings, all 
admirably arranged and supplied with the requisite con- 
veniences. There is 
also a full supply of 
the best of modern farm 
machinerv, including 
the Keystone hay load- 
er, economy in labor 
being a strong point 
in Mr. Kelley's farm 
system. 

About TOO acres of 
the farm are devoted 
to mowing and tillage, 
of which some forty 
acres are generally 
kept under the plow, 
one half of this being 

[OHN L. KeLLEV. 1 4. J i. „ . , 4.1 ^ 

■' planted to corn, the 

product of which is largely ensilaged. The potato crop 
reaches from 500 to 1,500 bushels, and has sometimes 
exceeded the latter figure. Market gardening is quite 
extensively pursued, Franklin Falls furnishing a ready 
daily market, whose wants have been carefully noted 
and promptly met. The hay crop is quite heavy, the 
two cuttings amounting to about 200 tons per annum. 
Milk production is the leading industry, and has grad- 
ually increased in extent, until now about sixty cows 




292 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

are kept, the milk being delivered daily to customers 
in the city. In addition to Mr. Kelley and his sons, 
four men are employed on the farm tiirough the year, 
and from two to tour others during the busy season. 

Mr. Kelley married, October 24, 1847, Miss Susan 
Drew, of Alton. Six children have blessed their union — 
Emil}^ Bird, wife of Rev. J. W. Walker, of Iowa; 
Olin J. ; Charles H., now a lawyer in Forest City, la. ; 
Elmer D. ; Nellie Bell, wite of Z. A. Norris, of Boston, 
and Irving J. All enjoyed and improved excellent educa- 
tional advantages, and are thoroughly equipped for the 
duties of life. Two of the sons, Olin J. and Elmer D., 
the latter a graduate of the New Hampshire College of 
Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts, and at present a 
member of the Franklin city council, are associated with 
Mr. Kelley in the proprietorship and management of the 
farm and business. Olin J. married Mary Elizabeth 
Walker, of Brompton, Ont., and has lour children. 
They occupy the cottage. Elmer D. married Emma 
Ingalls, of Walden, Vt., and has also four children, occu- 
pying the main house, with the father and mother. The 
younger son, Irving J., though unmarried, occupies the 
Scribner farm, adjoining, which was purchased by Mr. 
Kelley some years since, and is engaged in business for 
himself, with a partner. 

Mr. Kelley has been, all his life, diligently devoted to 
his occupation, never seeking office or preferment in any 
direction, but conscientiously performing his duty as a man 
and a citizen ; yet, while a resident of Gilmanton, he 
served for ten years as moderator, several years as a 
member of the school-board, and in 1864 and 1865 as a 
member of the legislature. Politically, he is a Republi- 
can, and in religion, a Methodist, having joined that 
church in early life, though as a matter of convenience he 
worshipped with the Free Baptists for some years in 



PERSONAL AND FARINI SKETCHES. 293 

Gilmanton, serving also as superintendent of the Sunday- 
school. In Franklin, he has been chairman ol the board 
of trustees of tiie Methodist Episcopal church since its 
organization, has filled by turns nearly all the offices of 
the church, and was for several years superintendent of 
the Sunday-school, a position which his son, Elmer D., 
has also acceptably filled for the last ten years or more. 

Mr. Kelley is a charter member of Franklin Grange, 
and is also a member of Pemigewasset Colony, U. O. 
P. F., of which he was the first governor. His sons are 
also members of the Grange, and Elmer D. for three 
years held the master's chair. 

Aside from home farms, Mr. Kelley owns several hun- 
dred acres of land in Hill, Northfield, and Gilmanton, 
including the ancestral farm in the latter town. In the 
fall of 1896, they erected a large hot-house near the 
city, as an adjunct of the market gardening business, 
which already gives promise of substantial returns. 



MARK RINES, 

Jefferson. 

Some ot the most energetic and successful men in 
northern New Hampshire hav^e combined the occupations 
of the lumberman and farmer, transtbrming the forest 
growth into lumber, and clearing up and cultivating the 
land. A good representative of this class is Mark Rines 
of Jefferson, who was born in that town, March 7, 1841, 
was educated in the common schools, and has devoted 
himself to lumbering and agriculture, with such success 
that, through strict attention to business, coupled with 
honor and integrity, he has acquired a handsome prop- 
erty. He manufactures annually about two millions of 
long and short lumber, including clapboards and shingles, 
tbr which he finds a ready market. 



J94 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



He has cleared about three hundred acres ot" land, 
which is devoted to agricultural purposes. He cuts 
annual!}^ 125 tons of hay, and raises 1,500 bushels of 
oats and other grain, which he feeds to a large stock of 
horses, oxen, cows, sheep, and young cattle. He also 
buys corn and manure, believing tliat it pays to feed both 
stock and land. His barns are large, warm, and con- 
venient, and the large yards and open sheds are comfort- 
able in summer and winter. A pure mountain spring 
furnishes an abundant 
supply of the best 
water, and the good 
care and gentle treat- 
ment which his stock 
receives is a paying 
investment. 

Mr. Rines is a Ma- 
son, a member of North 
Star lodge, of Lancas- 
ter. He is kind to the 
poor, and has many a 
time given a discour- 
aged man a lift, and 
with a cheerful word, 
sent him on his way 
rejoicing. It was " tax 
or jail " with one poor fellow, and he owed "Mark" an 
old score, too; but the tax was paid. Some time after, 
the man came, poorly clad, and with a tear in his eye, 
he said: "Mark, here is the money. You helped me 
when no other man would." 

Politicall}^ Mr. Rines is a Democrat of positive con- 
victions. So far as he is concerned, the office seeks 
the man, and not the man the office ; yet he has repre- 
sented his town in the legislature, and held other offices 





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.viflVVi 


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Mark Rixes. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 295 

of honor and trust. Temperate himself", lie believes in 
temperance, and in moral and legal suasion, too. He 
employs many men in mill and forest and on the farm, 
but strikes are unknown among them. He has a pleasant 
home, is in the prime of life, and employes, neighbors, 
and friends all say, " May his shadow never be less I " 

Mr. Rines has been twice married, and has live chil- 
dren. Three daufjhters hv his first wife are married and 
settled away from home, — one in Lawrence, Mass., and 
two in South Berwick, Me. By his second wite, Mary 
H. Gray of Lancaster, witii whom he was united April 
7, 1883, he has a daughter and son, twelve and three 
years of age respectively at time of writing. 



GEORGE CARPENTER, 

SWANZEY. 

" V^alley View " at the foot of Mount Caesar in Swan- 
zey is widely known as the seat of a generous hospitality. 
Here is the home of George Carpenter, great-grandson 
of Rev. Ezra Carpenter, who was born April i, 1698, 
and settled over the united parishes of Keene and Swan- 
zey, then known as Upper and Lower Ashuelot, Oct. 4, 
1753, locating upon the farm, on the slope of Mount 
Caesar, wiiich has ever since been held in the family, 
the entire period being covered by lour generations. 
Greenwood Carpenter, born March 31, 1733, succeeded 
his father in its ownership. He died February 3, 1808, 
leaving it to liis son Elijah, born December 23, 1779, 
and who died October 24, 1861. Elijah Carpenter was 
a prominent and influential citizen, serving in both 
branches of the state legislature, and for ten years as 
sherifl' of Cheshire county. 

George Carpenter, son of Hon. Elijah and Fanny 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



297 



(Partridge) Carpenter, was born on this larni September 
13, 1828. He was educated in the common school, at 
Mt. Cajsar Seminary, Swanzey, and at Saxton's River 
and Ludlow, Vt., academies. In 1850 he went South, 
and engaged in the business of tinning roots and railroad 
bridges, including that over the James river at Richmond. 
He pursued this business lor two years in dillerent 
sections of the country, but in 1852 caught the " gold 
fever" and went to California, where he engaged in 
mining, and subse- 
quently in farming at 
Santa Clara county. 
He returned East in 
1855, and on June 14, 
1864, was united in 
marriage with Miss 
Lucy J., daughter of 
Colonel Carter and 
Lucy (Baker) Whit- 
comb, since which 
time he has resided on 
the ancestral home- 
stead, with the excep- 
tion of six years in 
Chesterfield, where he 
carried on a variety of 
lumbering operations. 

Mr. Carpenter has always been a student, and, with 
his wife, took up the Chautauqua course in 1883, gradua- 
ting in the " Pansy class " of 1887, and subsequently pur- 
suing the University course under eminent instructors for 
several years. Economic e|uestions have especially com- 
manded his attention, and while reared a Democrat, and 
long acting with that party, he has been led through 
investigation and reflection to ally himself with various 




Geor(;e Carpenter. 



298 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

reform movements in politics that have arisen in recent 
years. He was the Greenback candidate for congress 
in his district in 1882, also for governor in 1884 and 1886, 
and a People's Party candidate for presidential elector in 
1892, continuing his alliance with the latter organization, 
and giving his support to William J. Bryan for presi- 
dent in 1896. 

The old Carpenter homestead has long been regarded 
as a place of historic interest. The old Indian Ibrt was 
situated on this farm, and the same spring that supplied 
the fort is the source of Mr. Carpenter's water-supply 
to-day, the original curb, cut from a hollow pine, still 
doing service in the same capacity. The farm contains 
about 200 acres of land, of which forty are in mowing and 
tillage, divided into small fields by the original heavy 
stone walls. The pastures of late have been allowed to 
grow up largely to young timber, Nature being regarded 
as the most profitable farmer by Mr. Carpenter, under 
present conditions, and although the farm formerly pro- 
duced heavy crops of corn and wheat, cultivation has 
been limited in recent years. The grounds about the 
buildings are beautifully shaded with pines, and the air 
of the place is that of quiet comfort, becoming the home 
of intelligence and refinement. In addition to the home 
farm, Mr. Carpenter has some 400 acres of outlying- 
timber land. 

Both Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter are interested members 
of Golden Rod grange of Swanzey, and have given time 
and effort to its work ; they are also deeply interested 
in the welfare of the Mt. Ccesar Library association, occu- 
pying the old seminar}' building, which Mr. Carpenter 
purchased and donated for the uses of the association. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



299 



HON. FRANCIS A. GORDON, 

Mp:rri.a[ack. 

Francis Allen Gordon, son of Jacob and Lydia (Smith) 
Gordon, was born in the town of Henniker, Febrnary 3, 
1830. He is a descendant in the sixth generation from 
Alexander Gordon, who came from Scotland in 1650, 
and settled in the town of Exeter. His father was a 
farmer and he was reared to farm labor, but attended 
school in youth at Henniker, Andover and Clinton Grove 

academies, and taught 
district schools in win- 
ter in Henniker, Hop- 
kinton, and Warner, 
for about fifteen years, 
continuing his resi- 
dence at the old home- 
stead. 

October 28, 1862, 
he was united in 
marriage with Martha 
Dicki n s o n M c G a w, 
daughter of Isaac and 
Eliza (Armour) Mc- 
Gaw, of Windham, 
and, the year follow- 
ing, removed to the 
well-known M c G a w 
farm at Reed's Ferry in the town of Merrimack, where 
he has since resided. 

This farm, which extends up from the west bank of 
the Merrimack river, was originally settled by Jacob 
McGaw, who was of Scotch-Irish parentage and emi- 
grated Irom Liney-Gloss, near Londonderrv, Ireland, 
settling in Bedford, from which town Merrimack was 




Hon. Francis A. Cordon. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 3°! 

taken, some time previous to the Revolution. He became 
a prominent citizen and represented Bedford in the New 
Hampshire le^ishUure during the entire Revolutionary 
period, from 1^775 to 1782. He was the father of Robert 
and Isaac McGaw, the former of whom remained upon 
the farm in question. 

The farm now embraces two hundred and sixty-five 
acres of land, including mowing, tillage, and pasture, 
and there are some four hundred and fifty acres of out- 
lying woodlands. The buildings include a spacious 
mansion, and modern farm barn, 100 x 40 feet, with 
cellar under the whole. The stock consists of twenty- 
four head of cattle and four horses, the leading specialty 
being milk which is principally sold to customers in the 
villao-e. Ten acres of ensilage corn and several acres 
of oats are grown annually, supplementary to the hay 

crop. 

Mr. Gordon is a Republican in politics and repre- 
sented the town of Merrimack in the legislature of 1889- 
'90. He also represented District No. 19 in the state 
senate for the session of 1895. In religion he is a Con- 
gregationalist, and has long been an active member of 
the First Congregational church of Merrimack, in which 
he has held the office of deacon for the last twenty-four 
years. He retains a strong interest in educational work, 
and is the leading trustee of the McGaw Normal Institute 
at Reed's Ferry, and treasurer of the board, devoting no 
little attention to the executive work essential to the 
maintenance of the school. He is a charter member of 
Thornton Grange, Merrimack, and has served several 
years as chaplain. 

Mr. and Mrs. Gordon have two sons, Robert McGaw, 
born August 19, 1871, and Arthur Gilbert, January 27, 
1876. The elder is a graduate of the McGaw Normal 
Institute and of the Bryant & Stratton Business College 



302 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

of Boston. He is at present a member of the Merrimack 
school-board and overseer of Thornton Grange. The 
younger son is a member of the class of 1899, New 
Hampshire College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts 
at Durham. 



CHARLES W. STONE, 

Andover. 

Among the most industrious and enterprising of the 
young farmers of New Hampshire is Charles W. Stone 
of Andover, a son of Charles J. F. and Abbie A. (Weare) 
Stone, born in Plymouth, August 6, 1859. ^^s father 
dying soon after his birth, his mother returned with her 
children to her birthplace, the old Weare homestead on 
Taunton Hill in the eastern part of Andover, where Jon- 
athan Weare, a kinsman of the patriot leader, Meshech 
Weare, settled in early life, and eventuall}' transmitted 
the property to his son Meshech, the father of Mrs. Stone. 

Here Charles W. Stone was reared, and has since had 
his home. Possessed of an active mind, a retentive 
memory, and a strong predilection for study, he fitted for 
college in New London academ}^ and entered Dart- 
mouth with his brother George W., two years older, 
graduating from that institution in 1878, before complet- 
ing his nineteenth year, being one of the youngest men 
ever graduated from that college. 

After graduation he returned home, and while his 
brother engaged in the study and practice of law, he 
devoted himself to the older and no less honorable avo- 
cation of agriculture, which he has since successfully 
pursued on the old maternal homestead, v\'hich, originally 
containing about two hundred acres, has been enlarged 
from time to time until it now embraces about eiffht 
hundred acres, mostly contiguous. The soil is strong 




Charles W. Stone. 



304 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

and productive, four tons of hay per acre, at two cut- 
tings, being secured in a season from the best cultivated 
fields. The annual hay crop averages about eighty 
tons, while a large amount of corn is ensilaged in the four 
silos now on the place, which have a total capacity of 
about two hundred and fifty tons. An abundant supply of 
fruit, from grafted and standard trees, is also secured in 
favorable seasons. 

Dair3nng is Mr. Stone's specialty, the product of some 
thirty cows being marketed in the form of cream, which 
is raised by the Cooley process, the milk being retained 
on the farm for feeding purposes. His entire stock the 
past winter consisted of sixteen horses and forty-eight 
head of cattle, including the cows. These are largely 
Jerseys and include some pure-blooded, and fine-grade 
animals. No little pains have been taken for improvement 
in this direction, a fine blooded bull from the noted C. I. 
Hood herd, having been recently in use. 

There are two sets of buildings on the farm, one house 
being occupied by the help. Three men are constantly 
employed, and several others during the bus}' season. 

For several years previous to 1895, Mr. Stone, 
although continuinor the management of his farm, was 
engaged as the New Hampshire agent of the Bowker 
Fertilizer compan}^ 

Mr. Stone is an earnest Democrat, but has given little 
time to politics. His fellow-citizens have called him 
into their service, however, to a considerable extent. He 
was chosen a member of the board of selectmen in 1881, 
when only twenty-one years of age, and again the fol- 
lowing year, and in 1883 was chairman of the board, 
which position he has held two years since that time. 
He represented Andover in the legislature of 1891-2, 
and was chosen road agent in 1896 and again in 1897, 
serving so efficiently in the latter position that the 





< 



u 



3o6 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

highways of Andover are among the best in the hill 
towns of New Hampshire. He has also served as a ballot 
inspector since the office was established. He was 
appointed a member of the board of trustees of the State 
Agricultural College in 1887 and has served continuously 
since that time, taking much interest in the welfare of 
the institution. He is a Patron of Husbandry, first 
joining Highland Lake Grange, East Andover, but 
withdrawing to unite with Blackwater Grange, Andover, 
upon the organization of the latter. He married August 
9, 1893, Emma Darveau of Quebec. 



PERLEY E. FOX, 

Marlow. 

Among the many men who, reared upon the farm, 
have gone out into other fields of labor and enterprise, 
and passed therein the more active years of life, and 
have turned again to agriculture for pleasurable employ- 
ment, if not for profit, is Perley E. Fox of Marlow, a well- 
known citizen of Cheshire county, and a prominent and 
interested member of the order of Patrons of Husbandry. 
Mr. Fox is a native of Marlow, a son of Peter T. and 
Emily (Perley) Fox, born December 17, 1833, upon 
the old farm on which his grandfather had settled, and 
to which his father had succeeded, about three fourths 
of a mile from Marlow village. Here he grew to man- 
hood, receiving such education as the public schools and 
Marlow academy afforded, and supplementing the same 
by attendance at the N. H. Conference seminary at 
Northfield, now at Tilton. 

At the age of eighteen, Mr. Fox commenced teaching 
and pursued that occupation for about ten years, the last 
five years in Danville and Belvidere, 111. In 1862 he 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



307 



returned from the West and engaged in mercantile pur- 
suits, and in 1869 went into the stove and tin business at 
Marlow, continuing the same successfully until 1892, 
when he retired from business, and, turning his attention 
to the home and occupation of his boyhood, took the old 
family homestead — the farm whereon his father and 
grandfather had wrought sturdily in the battle of life — 
and, though retaining his residence in the village, has 
since been, and now is, engaged in its cultivation and 

improvement, his pur- 
pose being to do good 
work and bring the 
farm into condition for 
profitable agriculture in 
the future, whether or 
not any direct pecuni- 
ar}' protit accrues to him 
in the process. 

Mr. Fox has about 
400 acres of land in 
all, largely pasture and 
woodland, some forty 
acres only being tillage. 
Of this, he keeps about 
ten acres under the 
plow, his object being 
the production of first-class crops of hay, supplementing 
the same with ensilage, a silo having been recently put 
in. He keeps a mixed stock, including eight or ten 
cows, some young cattle, three horses, and a flock of 
60 or 70 sheep. He was a charter member of Excelsior 
Grange of Marlow, of which organization he is the 
present master, and is also master of Cheshire County 
Pomona Grange, to which position he was elected in 
December, 1895. 




Perley E. Fox. 



308 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

He has taken an active interest in the work of the 
order, and is a ready and effective speaker in the various 
gatherings under its auspices in his section of the state. 
Mrs. Fox, formerly Miss Catharine Fiske, daughter of 
the late Hon. Amos F. Fiske of Marlow, to whom he 
was married November ii, i860, is also an earnest and 
efficient Grange worker, and has served as lecturer of 
the Pomona and subordinate Granges. They have no 
children living, a son, Charles H., having died in infancy. 

Mr. Fox is an Odd Fellow, and has passed the chairs 
in that organization. Politically, he is a Republican, but, 
residing in a Democratic town, has not been called into 
the public service as generally as might otherwise have 
been the case. He has served on the school-board 
many years, however, and was for three successive terms, 
or six years, a member of the board of county commis- 
sioners. In religion, he is a Methodist, and has been for 
29 consecutive years superintendent of the Sunday- 
school connected with that church in Marlow. 

While engaged in mercantile life, it should be noted, 
Mr. Fox took out three different patents, one of which 
was for tlie Granite State evaporator, for making maple 
sugar, which has been long and favorably known. 



JOHN M. PRESSEY, 

Sutton. 

John M. Pressey, of Sutton, son of William and Jemi- 
ma W. (Bean) Pressey, was born in that town. May 11, 
1841, and reared on the farm originally settled in 1772 
by his great-grandfather, William Pressey, from Haver- 
hill, Mass., who was the first carpenter in town and the 
first captain of militia. This farm, though not now occu- 
pied, has always remained in the family, and is now 



3IO NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

owned by Mr. Pressey. At twenty years of age he en- 
tered the Union army as a private in the First Rhode 
Island Cavahy, and served until discharged in Novem- 
ber, 1862, after being wounded at the Battle of Front 
Royal. Subsequently he was for two years clerk in the 
store of Lewis Ricliards at Sutton Mills, then bought a 
wood lot, and carried on lumbering operations and traded 
in cattle in connection with farming. In June, 1865, he 
married Miss Electa A. Durgin of Sanbornton. He 
lived in Canaan four years after marriage, then returned 
to Sutton and bought a farm in the western part of the 
town. This he sold in 1883, and bought the old Aaron 
Russell farm at South Sutton, where he has since resi- 
ded. This farm, of eighty acres, is now one of the best 
in the region, having been greatly improved, while the 
buildings have been extensively remodelled, rebuilt, and 
put in first-class condition. Milk production is the farm 
specialty, the fine hay crop being supplemented by ensi- 
lage from a fifty-ton silo put in in 1892. From fifteen 
to twenty cows are kept. He has one son, William S., 
now about thirty years of age, who lives at home and 
manages the farm, while he is himself extensively en- 
gaged in the flour and feed business at Bradford. Mr. 
Pressey is a Republican in politics, and has held various 
town offices. He was a charter member of Sutton 
Grange but has since withdrawn, thougli Mrs. Pressey 
is still an active and interested member of this organiza- 
tion. 



GEORGE F. WHITNEY, 2D, 

Newport. 

Among the thrifty and prosperous farmers of the town 
of Newport is George F. Whitney, 2d, a son of Orange 
and Emeline (Harris) Whitney, born in Sunapee, Feb- 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 3II 

ruar}^ 9, 1839, his parents having removed to that town 
from Lowell. When he was two years of age, they 
removed to Goshen, and a tew years later to Newport, 
where he has ever since resided. He was educated in 
the common school and the Newport High school, and 
has been engaged in agriculture and as a stone mason 
and contractor during the years of his active life up to 
the present time. 

He has a tine farm on the hillside, about two miles 
southeast of Newport village, which embraces about lOO 
acres of land. He also owns another farm on " Pike 
Hill," and a tract of valuable land on the Goshen road 
a mile below the village, upon which he has a fine 
barn . 

Mr. Whitney was for many years actively engaged in 
raisinrr thoroufjhbred Durham cattle, gainincr much 
reputation tor their excellence, and his present stock is 
in the same line. He keeps, generally, a pair of horses 
and twenty-five or thirty head of cattle, including ten 
good cows, whose milk is retailed in the village. He 
has a substantial set of buildings on the home farm, con- 
veniently arranged, including a fine new barn, just 
completed, 40x75 feet, with cellar under the whole. 
Considerable attention has been given to fruit culture, 
and he has one of the best young apple orchards in 
town. 

Mr. Whitney is a member of Sullivan Grange of New- 
port, and has been lecturer several terms. He is a Bap- 
tist in religion and a Democrat in politics, has served 
upon the board of selectmen, and was a representative 
in the legislature in the summer of 1878, and reelected 
for two years at the first biennial election in November 
following. He married Clara A. Wheeler, a sister of 
the late Paul J. Wheeler of Newport, Mav 11, 1864. 
They have one son, Frank G. Whitney. 



312 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



EMRI C. HUTCHINSON, 

MiLFORD. 

Few names are better known among Patrons of Hus- 
bandry in New England than that of Emri C. Hutchin- 
son of Milford, secretar}^ of the New Hampshire State 
Grange. The Hutchinson lamily has long been promi- 
nent in Milford, the ancestor, Nathan Hutchinson, being 
one of the early settlers of the town. His son, Benjamin, 
great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, married 
a daughter of William 
Peabody, the first set- 
tler of the town, who 
located on land grant- 
ed an uncle for heroism 
in battle. Benjamin 
Hutchinson 2d, son of 
Benjamin, received, 
through his mother, 
the land embraced in 
the present Hutchinson 
farm, and upon which 
his son, Benjamin F., 
father of Emri C, was 
born June 10, 1814, 
and has always re- 
sided. Benjamin F. 
Hutchinson married Eliza Richardson, and the worthy 
couple celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their mar- 
riage some years since. He has always taken a strong 
interest in agricultural progress and was one of the first 
men in the state to engage in and report the result of 
scientific feeding experiments. He was an active mem- 
ber of the State Board of Agriculture in the early days 
of the organization, was for several years president of 




Emri C. Hutchinson. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 313 

the Hillsborough County Agricultural Society, and also 
represented his town in the state legislature. 

Emri C. Hutchinson was born July 31, 1849, ^ipon the 
farm where he was reared and has alwa3's resided, the 
location being near Richardson's Crossing, on the Wil- 
ton railroad, about two miles from Milford village. He 
was educated in the town schools and the private school 
of Prof. W. L. Whittemore, and entered the first class 
in the New Hampshire College of Agriculture, but did 
not complete the course. August 9, 1876, he was united 
in marriage with Miss Annie E. Lovejoy of Peterboroj 
who has been a most faithful companion and assistant in 
the work in which he has been engaged. They have 
two daughters, — M. Roselle and Medora A. 

Mr. Hutchinson, like his father, has always been 
strongly interested in agriculture, and has been promi- 
nently identified with organizations promotive of its prog- 
ress. He was for some time secretary of the Hillsbor- 
ough County Agricultural Society, and was a charter 
member and the first secretary of Granite Grange No. 7, 
of Milford, holding the latter ofiice for six successive 
years. He was also lecturer for one year, and for two 
years master of the same Grange. He served as assist- 
ant stew^ard and steward of the State Grange one term 
each, and was general deputy for eight years previous 
to his election as secretar}^ in December, 1891, to which 
latter position he has since been successively reelected. 
He has also been secretary of the New Hampshire 
Grange Mutual Fire Insurance Company since its organ- 
ization in 1889, and through his taithful and persistent 
labors in these two offices he has been brought in con- 
tact with the Patrons of the state more generally than 
almost any other member of the organization, and has 
contributed largely to its success. He was also for one 
term master of the Hillsborough Countv Pomona 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 315 

Grange, of which he was a charter member. Mrs. 
Hutchinson has also been actively interested in Grange 
work, and has held various ofiices in the subordinate, 
Pomona, and State Granges. 

The Hutchinson farm embraces about seventy acres of 
land, sixteen of which is in mowing and tillage. Thor- 
ough cultivation has been the motto, and two tons of hay 
per acre the average product. At one time early pota- 
toes for the Nashua market were extensively raised, but 
milk production is the leading specialty. The cows are 
high grade Ayrshire and Durham, selected for their 
dairy qualities, and commanded iirst premiums at the 
county fairs for several years. The milk is sold to the 
Whitings for the Boston market, the product of this 
dairy going into Boston in the first car run for such pur- 
poses, and the sales some years have averaged over 
$100 per cow, at the contractor's prices. 

Mr. Hutchinson is a Republican in politics, but has 
never held or sought public office. Both he and Mrs. 
Hutchinson are active members of the Unitarian church 
of Milford. 



THOMAS S. PULSIFER, 

Campton. 

Attendants at the Grafton County and the Grange 
State fairs, and the annual winter exhibition of the 
Granite State Dairymen's Association, for many years 
past, cannot have failed to observe the fine dairy exhibits 
labelled " T. S. Pulsifer, Campton." 

Thomas Scott Pulsifer, son of John and Polly 
(Palmer) Pulsifer, was born on the farm where he has 
always resided, April 5, 1825. This farm, situated on 
the hillside, two miles by the highway from the railway 
station at Li verm ore Falls, and four miles from PIv- 



3i6 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



mouth village, was settled by Joseph Pulsifer, who came 
into town from Ipswich, Mass., in 1767, and located 
here in 1781, and has ever since remained in the family. 
It originally embraced about 100 acres, but additions 
from time to time have increased the acreage to 450, all 
contiguous, or nearly adjacent. 

Mr. Pulsifer attended the district school and Plymouth 
Academy, but his principal education has been gained 
in the school of practical agriculture, wherein he ranks 
with the most success- 
ful New Hampshire 
farmers, having adopt- 
ed "improvement" as 
his motto, and pro- 
ceeding upon the ba- 
sis that farming, even 
in New Hampshire, 
can be made to pay. 
He pursues mixed 
farming, with dairy- 
ing as a leading fea- 
ture. His mowing and 
tillage embraces some 
seventy-five acres, and 
his stock includes 
about thirty head of 
cattle, of which sixteen or seventeen are cows, selected 
for their milking qualities, four horses, and a small flock 
of sheep, of which in former years he kept a larger 
number. He raises 300 or 400 bushels of corn annu- 
ally, and until within a few years past, raised a consid- 
erable amount of wheat, for the production of which 
his land is admirably adapted, thirty bushels to the acre 
frequently being secured. Indeed, until 1894 he had 
never bought a barrel of flour for family use. For many 




Thomas S. Pulsifer. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 317 

years he produced a prime article of butter as well as 
cheese, but of late, except during three months in sum- 
mer, when he still makes cheese, to the number of sev- 
enty-five or one hundred, his milk has been delivered at 
the creamery in Plymouth. 

Mr. Pulsifer is an earnest Patron of Husbandry ; was 
a charter member of Campton Grange, organized in 
April, 1878, and its second master, holding the office 
eight years, altogether. He was a charter member and 
has been an officer of Grafton County Pomona Grange, 
was four years a District Deputy of the State Grange, 
and has been a director of the Grange Mutual Fire In- 
surance Company from the start, and its treasurer since 
the second year. In religion he is a Congregationalist ; 
politically, a Republican. He has been prominent in town 
affairs, serving as treasurer, member of the school board, 
chairman of the board of selectmen, and representative 
in 1865 and 1866. He has been a director in the Pemi- 
gewasset National Bank at Plymouth since its organiza- 
tion, and a director and vice-president of the Plymouth 
Creamery Association, which he was active in organiz- 
ing. 

January i, 1852, he married Hannah P. Cook of 
Campton. They have had tliree children, of whom one 
son, John M., survives. He married Laura S. Worthen 
of Holderness, has a daughter five years of age, and 
resides with his parents, the management of the farm 
now being in his hands. 



WILLIAM W. BURBANK, 

Webster. 

As a rule the man whose leading occupation in life is 
lumbering, or fitting for commercial uses the natural for- 
est product, develops a love for the soil, and a strong 




William W. Bukbank, 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 319 

affinity for agriculture, an occupation naturally resulting 
from, and kindred to, his own. 

William Wirt Burbank, of Webster, has been princi- 
pally occupied during his more than ordinarily busy life, 
up to the present time, in the business of a lumber man- 
ufacturer at " Burbank's Mills," on the Blackwater, not 
far from Corser Hill, in the northwestern part of the 
town. Here he was born, September 13, 1842, a son of 
Friend L. and Dorothy (Jackman) Burbank. He is a 
descendant of Moses Burbank, who came from Bradford, 
Mass., in 1733, and settled at Boscawen Plain, and 
whose son, David, the great-grandfather of William W., 
was a soldier in the patriot army at Bunker Hill, and an 
officer under Stark at Bennington. Abraham Burbank, 
a son of David, and father of Friend L., engaged exten- 
sively in lumbering and agriculture. He built the mills 
at the point in question, and the family name has ever 
since applied to the location, where William was reared 
and has ever had his home. He received his education 
in the schools of Webster and at Boscawen Academy, 
and engaged in the lumber business in company with 
his father. After the decease of the latter he carried 
on the business alone for a time, but for some fifteen 
years past his younger brother, Irving A., has been asso- 
ciated with him in the business, manufacturing all kinds 
of lumber to an amount exceeding 1,000,000 feet per an- 
num, the larger proportion of which is fitted for pack- 
ing boxes for shoe and woolen manufacturers. It is 
the leading manufacturing industry in the town, and the 
making of the finished product, instead of shipping the 
lumber as it came from the saw, as was the custom in 
former years, adds largely to the labor required, and 
consequently to the pay-roll of the firm, which is an im- 
portant item to the business interests of that section of 
the town. 



;20 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 




r 



Residence of W. W. 1jlki;a.\k, \\ij;>til1v. 



Mr. Burbank is an admirer of fine horses and has 
raised some excellent colts. Although his agricultural 
operations are not extensive, he has some fine intervale 
land which has been well cared tor and produces supe- 
rior hay and excellent potatoes. His interest in agricul- 
ture has been mani tested by his active connection with 
agricultural organizations. He was a charter member 
and the first master of Daniel Webster Grange ; was 
chosen master of Merrimack County Pomona Grange in 
1891, and was three times elected a member of the exec- 
utive committee of the State Grange. He was among 
the prime movers in the organization of the New Hamp- 
shire Grange Fair Association, and was general super- 
intendent of its fair tor the first four years, and president 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 32 1 

of the association the next two, and undoubtedly de- 
voted more time to the interests of the association for the 
first six years than any other man except the late secre- 
tary, N. J. Bachelder. Upon the organization of the 
Merrimack County Grange Fair Association in 1895 he 
was chosen president, and served again in the same 
capacity the following year. 

Mr. Burbank is a Republican in politics. He has 
served as town treasurer, has served on the board of 
selectmen a dozen years, as moderator a longer time, 
and represented the town ni the legislature in 1881. He 
has also been for fifteen or twenty years director of the 
Merrimack County Mutual Fire Insurance Company. 
He is a member of Harris Lodge, F. & A. M., of War- 
ner, and was worshipful Master of the same in 1896. 
In religion he is a Congregationalist, a member of the 
Congregational church in Webster, and clerk of the 
organization, and has also served some twelve years as 
superintendent of the Sunday-school. 

September 26, 1865, he was united in marriage with 
Miss Ellen M. Dow, daughter of Enoch H. Dow, of Con- 
cord. Thev have had lour daughters, — Nellie L., a 
music teacher, educated at the New England Conser- 
vatory ; Sarah C, deceased; Alice M., educated at 
Wellesley, now the wife of William B. Ranney of New- 
port, Vt. ; and Annie F., a graduate of the Concord 
High School of the class of 1897. 



JOSEPH BARNARD, 

HOPKINTON. 

Joseph Barnard of Hopkinton has long been one of 

the best-known agriculturists of Merrimack county. He 

was born on the Barnard farm, in the northeasterly part 

of the town, two miles from Hopkinton village, and two 

21 



322 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

and a half from Contoocook, November ii, 1817, being 
a son of Joseph and Miriam (Eastman) Barnard. His 
grandfather, also named Joseph, a son of Nathaniel 
Barnard of Amesbury, Mass., settled here in 1765, and 
the farm, which embraces about 150 acres, has alwa3'S 
been held in the family. Mr. Barnard's father attained 
celebrity as a breeder of hne-wooled sheep — the pure- 
blood Saxony — and won prizes on wool from his flock 
exhibited at the World's fair in London, and at the New 
York Institute in 1838 — a bronze medal of Prince Albert 
at the one, and a silver medal at the other, botii of 
which Mr. Barnard has now in his possession. He and 
his father were also amoncj the tirst breeders of Guern- 
sey cattle in this country, and the Barnard herd 
achieved wide distinction. He married, October 26, 
1849, Maria, daughter of Abial Gerrish of Boscawen, 
and great-granddaughter of Col. Henry Gerrish of Revo- 
lutionary fame. They have had nine children, of whom 
four — two sons and two daughters — survive. One son, 
George E., is married, and is now^ in possession of the 
family homestead, Mr. Barnard having fitted up a sepa- 
rate home near at hand. The farm produces seventy- 
five tons of hay, five hundred bushels of ears of corn, and 
a large amount of fruit. About thirty head of cattle are 
kept, the milk now being taken to the Guernsey cream- 
ery at Contoocook, and returned to the farm after the 
cream is separated. Fine butter was formerly produced 
at home and a medal and diploma were awarded the 
same for excellence at the Chicago exposition. Mr. 
Barnard is a Congregationalist and a Republican. He 
has represented his town in the legislature, and has been 
for many years an adjuster of fire losses for the Northern 
and B. & M. railroads. He has written considerably 
for the press on fruit culture, forestry, and kindred sub- 
jects. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



323 



CHARLES F. KIMBALL, 

Salem. 

One of the best farms in Rockingham county is the 
Kimball farm, located about half a mile from the railway 
station in the town of Salem. This farm, or a portion of 
it at least, has been in the Kimball family for more than 
one hundred and sixty years, and has never been en- 
cumbered by mortgage. The land was originally pur- 
chased by Robert Kimball of Bradford, Mass., tVom 
Ebenezer Eastman and Josiah Peasle}' of Methuen, and 

was sold by him to his 
son, Oliver, in 1743, 
lor forty pounds. Rob- 
ert Kimball was a 
grandson of Richard, 
the first of the family 
to settle in America, 
who came from the 
parish of Rattlesden, 
count V of S u ff o 1 k , 
England, in 1634, in 
the ship Elizabeth^ and 
settled in Watertown, 
Mass., but removed to 
Ipswich in 1637, where 
he was the town wheel- 
wright. His son, Ben- 
jamin, father of Robert, was a farmer and carpenter, and 
lived in Ipswich, Mass., Exeter, N. H., and Salisbury 
and Rowley, now Bradford, Mass. Oliver, son of 
Robert, who was the first to settle on the place, was 
born in Bradford, May 24, 1724; married Mary Ober in 
1745, and died in Salem November 3, 1801. His son, 
Oliver, who succeeded to the farm, w^as born in Salem, 




Charles F. I-vLvuiall 



324 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

December 7, 1745, married Mary Allen, and died April 
20, 1821. He was a soldier of the Revolution, and 
fought at Bunker Hill. He was a selectman of Salem 
in 1793- He was succeeded by his son, Joseph, born 
December 25, 1786, who married Rebecca Hazeltine, 
February 2, 1815, and died April 28, 1867. He was a 
prosperous farmer and also a selectman of the town. 
His son, Charles, father of Charles F., was the next in 
succession. He was born April 18, 1822, and married, 
in August, 1844, Celinda J. Hazeltine, born July 31, 
1825. He has been a successful farmer, has served as 
selectman and represented his town in the legislature in 
1891 and 1893. 

Charles Franklin Kimball, son of Charles and Celinda 
J. (Hazeltine) Kimball, was born on the homestead, 
March 15, 1853, and has ever resided there. He was 
united in marriage, September 3, 1874, with Martha 
Ella Copp of Methuen, Mass., born September 3, 1855. 
They have one son, Charles Allen Kimball, born July 
17, 1876. In 1887 his father deeded him a portion of 
the farm, and he continued for a few years, successfully, 
the business of market gardening, in which his father 
had for some time been engaged, though mixed farming 
had been the practice of their ancestors. Latterly, the 
raising of milk, eggs, and chickens for the Lawrence 
market has engaged his attention, special pains being 
taken in the breeding and selection of dairy cows. He 
has also been extensively engaged in lumbering for a 
number of winters. When deeded to him, the farm con- 
tained one hundred and fifty acres, a new two-story 
house and ell having just been erected. He has added 
two hundred and fifty acres of land and has recently 
erected a fin€ barn with a capacity of one hundred tons 
of hay, a horse barn 18x48 and a shed 16x30 feet, and 
has made other improvements. He has a silo of one 



326 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

hundred tons capacity. The stock consists of thirty head 
of cattle and three horses. The farm is equipped with 
the best of modern machinery, and the roofs of the 
buildings have recently been coated with asphalt roofing, 
which gives them a very fine appearance. 

Mr. Kimball is a member of the school-board and of 
the present state legislature. He is a Republican in 
politics, and he and his family are members of the 
Methodist Episcopal church. He is also a member of 
the Royal Arcanum. 



CHARLES WINCH, 

Langdon. 

Althousli small in extent, Langdon is one of the best 
agricultural towns in the state, and one of the wealthiest 
in proportion to population. One of the most progressive 
and successful farmers in this town is Charles Winch, 
son of Thomas and Clarissa (Towne) Winch, born in 
Sullivan, November 13, 1845, and there residing until 
1855, when he removed with his parents to the farm in 
Langdon which is now his home, which had been pur- 
chased in 1846 bv his grandfather, Archelaus Towne. 

Mr. Winch lived at home until twenty years of age, 
enjoying ordinary common school advantages. He then 
worked one summer in a Keene brickyard, and subse- 
quently attended Kimball Union academy, Meriden, two 
or three years, working his way ; but, health failing, he 
returned home, and for several years worked lor his 
father in summer and elsewhere in winter, two winters 
being spent in teaching in Westford, Mass. He then 
became a joint owner, with his father, of the farm. 

This place, sometimes known as the " silk farm," 
because the former owner, Mr. Jennison, once set out the 
mulberry, procured silkworms, and produced silk to 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



327 



some extent, though not successfully, is beautifully lo- 
cated on a hillside, sloping to the east and south, in the 
northwestern portion of the town, two miles from Alstead, 
and is now known as " Sunnyside." It contains two 
hundred and twenty-tive acres, of which forty-five are in 
mowing and tillage, the balance pasture and forest. 
About fifty-five tons of hay are cut yearly, while about ten 
acres of land are kept under the plow, five being in oats, 
four and a half in corn, and half an acre in potatoes. 

The average produc- 
tion of corn is about 
55 bushels, shelled, an 
acre, and of oats 60 
bushels, though a rec- 
ord of 84 bushels of the 
latter has been made. 
The stock consists of 
about 25 head of grade 
Durham cattle, 40 Mer- 
ino and Southdown 
sheep, and four iiorses. 
The product of ten 
cows is sold in cream, 
at the door, to the 
Westminster, Vermont, 
crea m e r y . A good 
apple orchard produces about one hundred and fifty 
barrels annually, and a sugar orchard of six hundred 
trees furnishes a large amount of choice sugar and syrup, 
which finds a ready market. A poultry house, stocked 
with barred Plymouth Rocks, is also an adjunct of the 
place. 

Mr. Winch is a Republican politically and has filled 
most offices in the gift of the town, including those ot 
auditor, collector, selectman, superintending committee 









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Sk. 




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Charles Wixc 11. 



328 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

and member of the school-board. He also represented 
the town in the legislature of 1895-6, serving on the com- 
mittee on agriculture. He is also a justice of the peace 
and quorum. He is a member of the Congregational 
church and has been superintendent of the Sunday- 
school seventeen years. He is a charter member of 
Alstead Commandery, U. O. G. C, instituted February 
12, 1894. 

December 8, 1875, ^^'"- Winch was united in marriage 
with Abbie L., daughter of George F. and Betsey (Ward- 
well) Hubbard, of Sullivan. They have five children, — 
Elton W., born January 7, 1877 ; Walter T., June 27, 
1879, '^o^"^ attending Gushing academy, Ashburnham, 
Mass. ; Clara A., February 14, 1881, attending Peter- 
borough High school; Bessie E., May 24, 1883; and 
Helen L., i\pril 4, 1892. The children, who are the 
life of the household, are musically inclined, all but the 
youngest playing on some instrument, and the evenings 
at home are largely spent in the music room. 



GRIFFITHS BROTHERS, 
Durham. 

The Griffiths tarm in Durham, three miles from the 
village, and an equal distance from Newmarket, contains 
200 acres of land, of which 70 are mowing and tillage, 
nearly all in a single level iield. This farm is equipped 
with the finest and best-arrantjed set of farm buildino;s in 
Strafford county, a handsome two-story residence being 
connected by an ell with a spacious barn, 41 x no feet, 
with eighteen-foot posts, and a capacity for 100 tons of 
hay, while all necessary out-buildings are convenientl}^ 
provided. This farm was originally a part of what was 
known as "Moharimet's Marsh," from Moharimet, a 



330 



M-:W llAMl'SIIlRli AGRICULTURE. 



noted Indian sagamore of the seventeenth century- Cap- 
tain Edward Griffiths, a noted sea captain, and a native 
of London, Enghmd, settled here in 1820. His son, 
John B. GrifRlhs, born June 14, 1814, bought the farm, 
and here spent his hie in the successtul pursuit of agri- 
culture. He dealt largely in neat cattle, and his ox 
teams were noted tor their excellence. He married 
Ruth Wentvvorth (a sister of Arioch Wentvvorth, the 
well-known Boston midti-millionaire), who still survives. 

John B. Grithths died 
June 8, 1896; but the 
larm had previously 
passed into the hands 
of his two sons, Edward 
B. and Arioch W., who 
were admitted to part- 
nership in 1874, '^"'^ 
v\ho, in addition to 
the regular tarm work, 
have been extensively 
engaged for the last 
twenty-tive 3ears in the 
manufacture of cider 
and vinegar. They 
have a steam mill with 
all the latest improve- 
ments, and a capacity for one hundred barrels per day. 
Edward B. Griffiths was born January 13, 1842. He 
was educated in the common school, Durham academ3s 
and Newmarket High school, and has spent his life on 
the farm, except three years in Boston, in the foreign 
and domestic fruit trade. May 24, 1876, he married 
Clara A. Chapman of Newmarket, who died April 4, 
1881, leaving one son, David F., born March 27, 1881, 
who, since attending the Newmarket grammar schools, 




Edward B. Griffiths. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



331 



is a student at the I31iss Commercial colle<^e, Dover. July 
2, 1884, he married M. EtFie Furber of Greenland. He 
is a Republican in politics, and a member of the Sons of 
the American Revolution, being a direct descendant ot 
Revolutionary soldiers, one of whom, Eleazer Bennett, 
was with General Sullivan at the capture of the gun- 
powder at Fort William and Mary. 

Arioch W. Griffiths was born August 31, 185 1. He 
attended the common school, Newmarket High school, 
and Franklin acade- 
my, Dover. June 14. 
1876, he married Sadie 
B. McDaniel of New- 
market. "Fhey have 
one son, John H., born 
September 20, 1877. 
educated at Newmar- 
ket High school, and 
the Bryant & Stratton 
Commercial college, 
Boston, and now book- 
keeper for the B. F. 
Haley Co. of Newmar- 
ket. Like his brother, 
Arioch W. is a Repub- 
lican and belongs to 
the Sons of the American Revolution. He is also an 
associate member of the G. A. R., and quite prominent 
in the order of Knights of Pythias, being a mem- 
ber of Pioneer lodge, No. i, of Newmarket, and was 
actively instrumental in the organization of the new lodge 
at Durham recently. He passed the chairs and became 
a member of the grand lodge in 1891. He was a charter 
member of William A. Frye Co., No. 5, U. R. He 
was for four years first lieutenant of his company and 




Ario( H \V. Griffiths. 



332 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

was promoted from that rank to that of major on the reg- 
imental staf^\ He was made lieutenant-colonel of the 
First regiment March 28, 1895, and holds the position at 
the present time. He has been quite active in public 
affairs, serving as census enumerator in 1890, as select- 
man two years, and as road agent in 1896. 



SOLOMON MANNING, 
Bedford. 

A typical representative of a large class of New Hamp- 
shire farmers who iiave achieved success by patient in- 
dustry in the cultivation of the soil, is Solomon Manning, 
whose home is on the Bedford farm where he was born, 
situated about one mile from the village and five miles 
from Manchester, upon the highway leading from that 
city to Amherst. Mr. Manning is the fifth of eight 
children of Solomon and Mary (Fletcher) Manning, 
born August 29, 183 1. He is a descendant of William 
Manning who came from England and settled in Cam- 
bridge, Mass., in 1635. His mother was a descendant 
of Robert Fletcher of Yorkshire, England, who settled 
in Concord, Mass., in 1630, coming over in one of the 
seventeen ships that arrived in Plymouth harbor that 
year. Several of Mr. Manning's ancestors have been 
engaged in the wars of the countr}-, a grandfather having 
been at the Concord fight, April 19, 1775, and a great- 
grandfather at Burgoyne's surrender at Saratoga, who 
died at the advanced age of one hundred and one years, 
seven months and seven days. 

Mr. Manning's father located upon this farm in 1825, 
which is one of the best in this excellent agricultural 
town. It contains about 300 acres, and is noted as hav- 
ing been the first farm in town upon which hops were 
raised. Here Mr. Manning spent his youth in active 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



333 



labor, except such time as he was allowed for study in 
the district school and at McGaw Normal Institute at 
Reed's Ferry. At the age of twenty-one years he com- 
menced work for himself, with no capital but courao-e 
and industr3s purchasing the farm of his father, and buy- 
ing out the other heirs. Milk production lias been his 
specialty for nearly forty years, though he was also for 
many years quite extensively engaged in market garden- 
ing. For more than 
twenty years he sold 
milk in the Manches- 
ter retail market ; but 
now sells at home to 
other dealers. For 
many winters he was 
also quite extensively 
engaged in lumber- 
ing. His farm pro- 
duces about 80 tons of 
hay per annum, and 
he has silos of 80 tons 
capacity. His stock 
consists of some thirtv 
cows and three or four 
horses. The buildings 
are substantial and convenient, two tine barns, ninety and 
forty-tour feet in length, connecting at right angles. 

Mr. Manning has been twice married — first to Hannah 
M. Jones of Andover, Mass., Nov. 29, 1855. Their 
children were Frank E. and Mary E. Manning. The 
former is settled on an adjoining farm ; the latter, edu- 
cated at the Framingham, Mass., Normal school, was 
lor several years a teacher in Massachusetts, but has 
been for some time past at home, and a member of the 
Bedford school board. On December 17, 1863, he was 




SoLll.MdX MANMXf,. 



334 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



married to his present wife, Miss Anstress P. Flint of 
Bedford. Their children are Harriett F., William S., 
Julia L., and Margie A. The son is married and resides 
at home in a new house near the family residence. Julia 
and Margie, educated at McGaw Institute and the Man- 
chester Business college, are filling desirable positions 
in business life, while Harriett is a dressmaker. 




RiisiniiNCE OF SoLOMOx Ma,\'.\in(;, Bedford. 

Mr. Manning is an active member of the Presb3'terian 
church in Bedford. He is a Republican in politics, and 
has filled the office of selectman and other positions of 
trust. He was a charter member and first master of 
Narragansett Grange, of which organization his son Wil- 
liam was master when it celebrated its twentieth anni- 
versary. 



HENRY F. CATER, 
Barrington. 

Although Barrington does not take as high rank among 
agricultural towns as some others in Slraflbrd county, 
there are some good farms and some excellent farmers 
within its limits. Prominent among the latter is Henry 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



.•)JD 



F. Cater, who resides on the old homestead, settled by 
his grandfather, Joel Cater, ninety-five years ago, and 
ever since remaining in the family. Daniel Cater, son 
of Joel, spent his life npon this farm and established a 
wide reputation as an enterprising farmer and successtul 
stock breeder. He married Sarah A. Foss, and they 
reared a family of five children, two sons and three 
daughters, Henry F. 
being one of the sons. 
John W. Cater of Bow 
Lake, Strafford, a pros- 
perous merchant and 
farmer, is the other son, 
and the daughters are 
Mrs. J. D. Philbrick, 
Mrs. C. E. Smith, and 
Mrs. H. F. Brock of 
Rochester. 

Henry F. Cater was 
born June 4, 1856, was 
educated in the district 
school and at Austin 
academy, in Strat^brd, 
and Franklin academy, 
Dover, and has devoted his attendon to agriculture at the 
old home up to the present time. 

This farm, which now embraces about ninety acres of 
land, though originally containing one hundred and fifty, 
has been noted many years for its excellent cattle, par- 
ticularly tine oxen and steers, and the present stock com- 
pares favorably with the best in the region, it being com- 
posed of fine Durhams, several of which, including a 
superior bull, are registered full bloods, bred from repre- 
sentatives of the famous Sutton herd at Center Harbor. 
The cows are superior milkers and their product is now 




Henrv F. Ca ii.lv. 



33^ 



NEW HAMPSHIRK AGRICULTURE. 



sold to retail dealers for the Rochester market, but up 
to the fall of 1896 had been sold to Hood & Sons for 
several years, by whom it was pronounced the best re- 
ceived along tlieir entire route, testing for a year 4.60 
per cent, of butter fats. 

The farm produces about sixty tons of hay, and a silo 
of eighty-five tons capacity is also filled. Eight hundred 
bushels of ears of corn have been raised in a year. The 
stock now kept includes some twenty-five head of cattle, 
of which eighteen are cows, and three horses. The 




Fakm Bliluim.s of H. F. Cater, Bakuincjton. 



location is about four and a half miles from Rochester, 
and the North Harrington post-office has been kept on 
the farm for thirty-four years continuously, except for 
the interruption of a short period during the last ad- 
ministration. The buildings, which include a substantial 
two-story house, and barn 40x96 feet, with cellar under 
the whole, and all necessary outbuildings, are in ex- 
cellent condition, and abundantly supplied with pure 
water. Modern farm methods are pursued and a full 
complement of superior implements is to be found on the 
farm. Ayers' pond, a delighttul sheet of water, borders 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 337 

the farm on the west, and in a charming pine grove on 
the shore, a favorite resort of picnic parties, Mr. Cater 
has erected a tasty summer cottage, where the family are 
enabled to enjoy the beauties of the lakeside without 
going away from home, and many friends are hospitably 
entertained. 

On November 17, 1877, Mr. Cater married Miss 
Augusta F. Rollins of Strafford. They have one son, 
Harry Burton, born October 10, 1880, who has been 
educated at Northwood Seminary and the Bliss Com- 
mercial college at Dover, and who is strongly interested 
in agriculture and will make the same his vocation in 
life. Mr. Cater is a Republican in politics. He was 
town clerk of Barrington seven years successively up to 
1892, and is the present postmaster at North Barrington. 
He was a charter member and the first master of Cen- 
tennial Grange, No. 185, of Barrington, but witiidrew in 
1896 and united with Rochester Grange as a matter of 
convenience. He is now treasurer of the latter grange, 
while Mrs. Cater fills the chair of Flora, and their son is 
assistant steward. Mr. Cater was also chosen secretary 
of Eastern New Hampshire Pomona Grange in 1896. 
Both he and his son are seventh degree members of the 
order. He is a member of Humane Lodge, No. 22, 
A. F. & x\. M., of Rochester, and of Palestine Com- 
mandery, K. T. He is also a Knight of the Golden 
Eagle. 



HEZEKIAH SCAMMON, 

Exeter. 

The Scammons were conspicuous in the early history 

of New Hampshire, the first of the name in the colony 

being Richard Scammon, who came to Boston from the 

mother country, and subsequently settled in Portsmouth, 

22 



338 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



where he is known to have been a resident as early as 
1640. His eldest daughter, Anne, was the wife of the 
celebrated Major Richard Waldron of Dover, who was 
killed by the Indians, and his son Ricliard married Pru- 
dence, the daughter of William Waldron, and in 1665 
settled on a tract of land in the southern part of the pres- 
ent town of Stratham, which had come into the family 
possession by royal grant, and has been held therein, a 
portion of it at least, up to the present time. William, 
son of Richard and 
Prudence Sea m m o n , 
was a soldier in the 
Indian war of 1696, 
was a selectman of 
Exeter in 1699 and 
1700, and was one of 
the first board of se- 
lectmen of the town of 
Stratham, incorporated 
in 1716. 

Richard Scammon, 
a great-grandson of 
William, to whom the 
ancestral home de- 
scended, married Abi- 
gail Batchelder, and 
was the father of four children, Hezekiah, James, a 
prominent lawyer of Kansas City, Sarah C, and Col. 
Richard M., the latter now residing on the homestead. 

Hezekiah Scammon, the eldest of these children, was 
born in Stratham, January 31, 1843. He was educated 
in the district school and at Andover, New London, and 
Exeter academies, and taught school himself a few terms 
in early life. January 9, 1867, he was united in mar- 
riage with Mary E. Jewell of Stratham, when they 




Hezekiah Scammox. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 339 

established their home upon a farm which he had pur- 
chased, located about one mile from the village, in the 
town of Exeter, in the cultivation of which he actively 
engaged, pursuing the same continuously until 1893, 
with the e.xception of two years, wdien he was engaged 
in mercantile business. 

His farm contains about 135 acres of excellent land, 
and has been principally devoted to dairying. For a 
time he was extensively engaged in the retail milk busi- 
ness in Exeter, and kept a herd of about twenty cows. 
Four years ago he took up his residence in the village, 
retaining the ownership of the farm and looking after 
its management, but subsequently leasing it to another. 

Mr. Scammon stands in the first rank among Patrons 
of Husbandry in New Hampshire, by virtue of charter 
membership in Oilman Grange No. i, the first grange 
instituted in the state. He is also a charter member of 
East Rockingham Pomona Grange, and was four years 
master of the same, declining a fifth election. He was 
for three years a district deputy, and was chosen lecturer 
of the State Grange in December, 1895. He is well 
skilled in the work of the order, a thoughtful and force- 
ful speaker, and a strong and determined advocate of 
the principles for which the grange organization stands. 

He is a member of Star in the East Lodge, No. 59, 
A. F. & A. M., of Exeter, and has held most of its chairs, 
including that ofW. M., and is also a member of St. 
Albans Chapter, No. 15. Politically, he has always 
been a stanch Democrat, and therefore out of sympathy 
with the majority of Exeter voters, but he has served 
eight years as a member of the school-board, as auditor 
and in minor offices. 

He has two sons, Everett, who holds a promising posi- 
tion in the Print and Dye works at Medford, Mass., and 
James, who is in the telephone business at Newburyport. 




Joseph D. Roberts. 



PERSONAI. AND FARINI SKETCHES. 34I 

JOSEPH D. ROBERTS, 

ROLLINSFORD. 

Although embracing less than ten square miles of ter- 
ritory, in which is also located a thriving manufacturing 
village, Rollinsford is one of the best agricultural towns 
in the state, being favored with a rich, strong soil, ad- 
mirably adapted to hay, corn, and fruit production, while 
it has scarcely any waste land. Its proximity to Dover 
and Somersworth insures ample market advantages. 

Among the most prominent and successful farmers of 
this town is Joseph Doe Roberts, the sixth of seven sons 
of the late Hon. Hiram R. and Ruth (Ham) Roberts, of 
that town, born November 12, 1848, on the old Roberts 
homestead, about half a mile from Rollinsford Junction, 
which was settled by his great-great-grandfather in 
1743, and has ever since remained in the family. 

Hiram R. Roberts was a New Hampshire farmer of 
the best type, — a man of excellent character and wide 
influence — who commanded the respect of his fellow cit- 
izens, and was, without self-seeking, accorded a liberal 
share of public honors; but who, above all else, honored 
and dignified the calling of agriculture. He taught his 
children the lessons of industry and integritv, and Joseph 
D., with the others, profited thereby. Although early 
instructed in the labors of the farm, he was aflbrded op- 
portunit}' to secure a fair education, and improved the 
same in attendance at the district school, and at the fa- 
mous academy of the adjacent town of South Berwick, 
Me. He also developed a fondness for teaching and 
pursued the same for a dozen winters, commencing at 
the age of sixteen, seven winters being spent in the dis- 
trict wherein resided the late Chief-Justice Doe, for whose 
father, Joseph Doe, a warm personal friend of his own 
father, he had been named. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 343 

In 1870, having attained his majority, he bought the 
fine farm of 120 acres, which is now his home, located 
on the old Dover and Portland turnpike, about half a 
mile trom his birthplace, and devoted himself to its culti- 
vation and improvement, although making his home with 
his parents, until his marriage, July 31, 1873, with Miss 
Addie E. Littlefield of Wells, Me., when he established 
a home for himself on the farm, where he has since 
resided. Dairying, or milk production, fruit raising, 
and market gardening have been Mr. Roberts's special- 
ties. The latter was pursued quite extensively for a 
number of years, but of late has been followed only inci- 
dentally, to the extent of supplying vegetables lor his 
milk customers. Of fruit he raises a large amount of all 
kinds, including sixty or seventy varieties of apples and 
nearly as many of pears. In the prolific and unprofit- 
able season of 1896, he harvested 4,650 bushels of hand- 
picked apples, from his own farm and the old home- 
stead, which latter he has had charge of since the death 
of his brother, John H., in 1S89, his venerable mother 
still residing there. 

Milk delivered to family customers, for man}- years in 
Dover, but latterly in the village of Salmon Falls, has 
been his principal line. His stock averages about thirty- 
five head, from twenty to twent^'-five being cows, all of 
which at the present time are registered Holsteins. For 
some years he had Short Horns, and subsequently bred 
Ayrshires, but of late has given his preference to the 
Holsteins, in the selection and breeding of which he has 
taken much pains. His bull, "Jan. 3d's Prince Sol- 
dene," from the famous Damon herd of Cochituate, 
Mass., is a superior animal, and another recently pro- 
cured from William Rood of Binghamton, N. Y., has a 
butter record on the mother's side of over thirtv-eight 
pounds per week. He has exhibited his herd at the 



344 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

Rochester fair with great success for a number of years, 
in 1896 capturing nearly all the first prizes in his class. 

Mr. Roberts ordinarily cuts seventy-five tons of hay 
or more on his own farm, and one hundred on the home- 
stead, and raises about ten acres of corn on both places. 
He has a silo of ninety tons capacity, and is planning a 
larger one. His buildings are commodious and conven- 
ient, and he is abundantly supplied with all the essential 
modern farm appliances. 

Politically, Mr. Roberts is a Democrat. He served 
the town two years as superintending school committee 
under the old system, and has been for two terms a 
member of the school board under the new law. He 
also served for eight years as a selectman, being 
chairman of the board six years successively up to 1897, 
and represented the town in the legislature in 1895. 
Although the county is ordinarily strongly Republican, 
he has served four years upon its board of commission- 
ers. In religion he is a Baptist and is associated with 
the church of that denomination at South Berwick, Me. 
He is also a member of the Odd Fellows Lodge at Sal- 
mon Falls. He is a trustee of the Rollinsford Savings 
Bank at Salmon Falls, and a director of the Salmon Falls 
(state) Bank, succeeding his father in these positions. 

He was a charter member and actively interested in 
the organization of Hiram R. Roberts Grange, of Rol- 
linsford (appropriately named for his honored father), 
whose spacious new hall stands near his residence, and 
was elected Master of the same in December, 1896. He 
is also a member of the executive committee of the State 
Grange, elected in 1895. 

Mr. and Mrs. Roberts have had nine children, of 
whom seven — three sons and four daughters — are living. 
The eldest daughter, Elizabeth, is a teacher, a graduate 
of Salem, Mass., Normal School, and the second is a 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 345 

pupil in the Dover High School, while the eldest son, J. 
Harry, is a graduate of the New Hampshire College of 
Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts, of the class of 1896. 



HARRISON G. BURLEY, 

Newmarket. 

The old Burley homestead in Newmarket, located in 
the southwestern portion of the towai, four miles from the 
village, and about one mile from Littlerield's crossing, 
on the Concord & Portsmouth railroad, has been held in 
the family since its settlement in 1769 b}^ Josiah Burley, 
a descendant of Giles Burley, who was a citizen of 
Ipswich, Mass., as early as 1648. The present owner, 
Harrison Gray Burley, son of Jonathan and Sarah C. 
(Neal) Burley, was born here, December 9, 1834, "^^^^ 
has spent his life upon the farm thus far. He w^as 
educated in the common school and at Blanchard 
academy, Pembroke, and has devoted his life primarily 
to the pursuit of agriculture, incidentally dealing in cattle 
to a considerable extent. 

The farm, wdiich includes something less than 200 
acres, is in excellent condition, with good buildings, 
well arranged, and all the necessary modern appliances. 
About forty acres of land are in mowing and tillage, and 
the annual hay crop averages about forty tons. Four 
hundred bushels of corn per annum have been produced, 
and a good variety of fruit is usually secured. A small 
but choice dairy of grade Jerse}^ and Durham cows is 
kept, and the butter product of about 1,000 pounds per 
annum is retailed to private customers. Four good 
horses are usually kept on the farm, and a number of 
superior swine. 

Mr. Burley w^as united in marriage, January 17, 1877, 
with Fannie E., daughter of the late Jew^ett Conner, 



34^ 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



Esq., of Exeter. They have three children — a son and 
two daus^hters — Walter D., born October 24, 1877 ; 
Lillian M., now a student at Robinson Female seminary, 
Exeter, born October 15, 1879; and Winnifred Conner, 
born November 21, 1889. 

Mr. Burle}^ is an earnest Democrat in politics, and has 
always taken a strong interest in public affairs. He has 
held various offices in 
the gift of his towns- 
men, serving several 
years as a member of 
the board of selectmen, 
as supervisor, and as 
representative in the 
state legislature in 
1872 and 1873. He 
is a charter member 
of South Newmarket 
Grange, served three 
years as lecturer of the 
organization, and as 
overseer in 1897. He 
is also a member of 
East Rockingham Po- 
mona Grange, and has been overseer of the same. His 
religious affiliation is with the Congregationahsts, and he 
is an attendant with his famil}^ upon the services of that 
denomination at South Newmarket, now Newlields. 

For nearly twenty-five 3'ears past Mr. Burley has been 
an agent of the Rockingham Fire Insurance company of 
Exeter, and has been quite extensively engaged in look- 
ing after its interests, serving also in the capacity of 
adjuster in determining losses through quite a large 
extent of territory in his section of the state. Since 1878 
he has been a director of the orijanization. 




Harrison G. Blklev. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 347 

WARREN A. FREiNCH, 

Alstead. 

Warren ' A. French, lifth son of Charles F. and 
Aureha French, was born in the town of Alstead, which 
has always been his home, March 17, i860. His parents 
were industrious, upright, conscientious people, devoted 
members of the Methodist church, who, themselves in 
limited circumstances, brought up their nine children in 
the way they should go, by impressing upon their minds 
the importance of industry and integritv. Warren A. 
attended the district school as far as opportunitv per- 
mitted, but while quite young commenced working out 
by the month, cutting four foot wood in winter, and 
establishing a reputation for industry, perseverance and 
reliabilitv which he has maintained throuo-h life. 

April 4, 1883, he was united in marriage with Miss 
Etta Emmons, daughter of David and Celinda Emmons of 
Bristol, when they established their home upon the well- 
known Samuel Goodhue farm in the southeastern part 
of Alstead, about one and one-half miles from Gilsum 
village, which is his post-oifice and business address, 
which farm, prompted by faith and courage, he had 
recently piuxhased, though incurring large indebtedness 
in so doing. Here the voung couple entered earnestly 
upon their life work, and the rewaid of patient industry, 
sagacity, and enterprise has been theirs in large degree. 
The farm, which embraces som.e 300 acres, has been 
thoroughly rehabilitated, and brought into an exxellent 
state of cultivation, the buildings remodeled and 
improved, and all the evidences of thrift and prosperity 
made clearly manifest. 

Mr. French is a thoroughly progressive and scientific 
farmer, with improvement and progress as his motto. 
Thoroughbred Jersey cattle, Percheron horses, Chester 




< 



M 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 349 

White swine, and Brahma and Plymouth Rock fowls are 
his hobbies, and he is successful with them all. He cuts 
in the vicinity of 100 tons of hay, and supplements the 
same with ensilage, and uses the most improved farm 
machinery in all his operations. His stock consists of 
about hfty head of cattle, eight horses, and forty to sixty 
swine. 

Mr. French is always loyal to public duty, alive to the 
interests of his town and neighborhood, and, with his 
wife, takes an active interest in social affairs. They are 
both earnest members of the order of Patrons of Hus- 
bandry, having received the seventh or highest degree. 
They are also charter members of Social Commandery, 
of the order of the Golden Cross, in which organization 
Mr. French is at present a deputy in the Grand Com- 
mandery. He is a member of Forest lodge, No. 69, I. 
O. O. F., and with his wife belongs to Golden Rule 
Rebekah Degree lodge. He is also an active member of 
the United Order of American Mechanics, and he and his 
wife are members of the Daughters of Liberty, also the 
order of Fraternal Helpers. They have served in ^•ari- 
ous official positions in the organizations with which they 
are associated, with credit to themselves and benetit to 
their associates, and by counsel and effort have con- 
tributed to their prosperity. 

Mr. and Mrs. French have two children — both daugh- 
ters — Gracie, born April 18, 1886, and Ruby E., born 
July 20, 1887, who are the light and joy of a cheerful 
home. Politically, Mr. French is a Republican. The 
family are constant attendants at the Congregational 
church, and all are members of the Sunday-school. 



350 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



GEORGE E. NEWMAN, 
Alstead. 

No man in southwestern New Hampshire is more gen- 
erally known in agricultural circles, or is more actively 
interested in the work of the Grange than George E. 
Newman of Alstead. He is a native of Gilsum, the 
oldest of five (three surviving) sons of George W., and 
Esther L. Newman, born March 5, 1850, in the house in 
Gilsum village built and owned by his father, which 
is now the Congregational parsonage, where he lived 

until twelve years of age, 
when his father bought the 
well-known Da^■id Ware 
farm near the village, and 
there removed with his f am- 
ilv, that his sons might have 
healthy and honorable oc- 
cupation, and be reared to 
a life of virtuous industry. 
The father, in his lifetime, 
was one of the strong, en- 
terprising, prosperous citi- 
zens of the town, of firin 
principle and fixed integri- 
ty, and his influence, with 
that of a devoted and watch- 
ful mother, who is still liv- 
ing, shaped well the char- 
acters of their children. 
Mr. Newman acquired a good common school educa- 
tion, and attended Kimball Union academy at Meriden 
two seasons. At the ajje of nineteen vears his father 
gave him his time for the balance of his minority. He 
remained at home one year, working for wages, with the 




George E. New.max. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 35 1 

exception of the winter months, when he taught school 
with success. His father desired him to pursue a col- 
legiate course, and offered assistance to that end, but he 
had developed so strong an ambition for active life that 
he failed to accept the offer, and, at the age of twenty, 
bought out the teaming line between Gilsum and Keene, 
a distance of nine miles, which he C(_)nducted for seven- 
teen years. One year later, when twenty-one, he pur- 
chased a half interest in the general merchandise store 
in Gilsum village, which he run for four years, then 
selling to his brothers, Daniel W., and Isaac B. New- 
man. At this time he commenced dealing extensively 
in live stock and general farm products, thus furnishing 
a convenient market for farmers in that and surrounding 
towns. 

In 1880, Mr. Newman purchased the well-known 
Aaron Brijirham homestead, situated in Alstead, about a 
mile and three-fourths from Gilsum, his original pur- 
pose being to utilize the same as a summer resort, but 
the attractions of the place proved so great that he deter- 
mined to make it a permanent family home, and there 
has been his residence up to the present time. He has 
made great improvements on all sides, new buildings 
being erected and old ones repaired, tlie fields cleaned up 
and their fertility largeh^ increased, so that it is now not 
only the largest, but also one of the best-equipped farms 
in town, and among the most desirable in the state. He 
has about i,ooo acres of land altogether, and his hay and 
ensilage equal the value of 150 tons of the former, per 
annum. His stock averages about 100 head of cattle, 
altogether, thirty horses, and forty hogs. For many years 
past, indeed, the place has been wddely known as the 
" Gilsum live stock market," from the extensive business 
in the purchase and sale of stock in which Mr. Newman 
has been engaged, greatly to the convenience of his fel- 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 353 

low-farmers and others, on all sides, for mik-s around. 
There are two extensive mica mines on this farm, which 
have been developed sufBciently to prove their value. 
The place is also noted for the large quantity and excel- 
lent quality of maple sugar annually produced thereon. 
In addition to other business, it may be added that Mr. 
Newman has been extensively enp-ai^ed in lumberin<r for 
a number of 3^ears. 

Mr. Newman married, first, Sarah A. Wilder, daurfh- 
ter of George and Nancy Wilder, of Alstead Center, 
September 29, 1875. She died, beloved by all who 
knew her, March 29, 1884. June 3, 18S5, ^^*^ married 
Abbie M., daughter of James A. and Susan P. Kidder, 
of x\lstead. They have one son, George E. Newman, 
Jr., a promising lad, the pride of the home, now ten 
years of age, who is president of the Junior society of 
Christian Endeavor, in Gilsum. 

Mr. Newman early interested himself in the work of 
fraternal, benevolent, and patriotic organizations. He 
was for many years president of the local Temperance 
society in Gilsum. He is a member of Forest Lodge, 
No. 69, I. O. O. F., and he and his wife are also 
members of Golden Rule Rebekah Degree Lodge, No. 
30, as well as charter members of Social Commandery, 
No. 445, U. O. G. C. He is associated with the Red Men, 
American Mechanics, and with the Daughters of Lib- 
erty, as a charter member. Both are enthusiastic Patrons 
of Husbandr}^, and seventh degree members of the order. 
He has served Ashuelot Grange ethcientlv as master, 
and given much time and effort to promote the welfare 
of the order at large. Politically, he is a Republican, 
active and ardent, and has served his party with the 
same zeal as the other organizations to which he be- 
longs. He has been several times a member of the 
board of selectmen, and is usually selected b\^ his fellow- 



354 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

citizens to preside on public occasions, his natural enthu- 
siasm and capacity for leadership admirably adapting 
him for such service. He and his family are constant 
attendants at the Congregational church and Sunday- 
school in Gilsum. 



EDWARD E. BISHOP, 
Bethlehem. 

At the meeting of the governor and council on Tues- 
day, November 2, 1897, among other changes made in 
the personnel of the State Board of Agriculture was that 
involved in the appointment of Edward E. Bishop oi 
Bethlehem, to be a member of the board for the county 
of Grafton, in place of George W. Mann of Benton, who 
had served two terms, and, on account of advancing age 
and impaired health, had expressed a desire not to be 
reappointed. 

Edward E. Bishop, son of Horace and Martha E. 
Bishop, was born in Newbury, Vt., October 18, 1859. 
When he was two years of age, his parents removed to 
the town of Littleton in this state, where he grew to 
manhood and continued his home until the spring of 
18S9. He received his education at St. Johnsbury, Vt., 
Academy, and the Eastman Business College, Pough- 
keepsie, N. Y., graduating from the latter in January, 
1883. 

Active and ambitious, and realizing the opportunity 
which the mountain hotels afforded for profitable busi- 
ness for any one disposed to study their needs, and meet 
the same witii judgment and discrimination, he com- 
menced, early in life, the business of purchasing from 
the farmers of the vicinity, poultry, eggs, butter, fruit, 
vegetables, etc., and disposing of the same at the hotels 
and boarding-houses in Betlilehem, and other summer 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



355 



resorts in that section of the state, and has continued the 
same up to the present time, establishing- the largest 
business in this line in northern New Hampshire. 

In 1889, he ])urchased a fine farm of eighty acres in 
the town of Bethlehem, on the main road from Littleton 
to Bethlehem street, three miles from the former and two 
from the latter, which has since been his base of opera- 
tions. He has about forty acres in mowino- and tillacre, 

cuts about forty tons of 
hay, has a fine dairy of 
twelve or fifteen grade 
Jerse3's, whose product 
is marketed at home in 
summer and shipped to 
Boston in winter. He 
also raises about two 
acres of strawberries, 
for which crop the ho- 
tels furnish a ready 
and profitable market. 
In connection with his 
market business, he 
has erected a capa- 
cious freezing; and cold 
storage house, which 
gives him exceptional advantage. 

Mr. Bishop was united in marriage. May 11, 1885, 
with Miss Carrie M. Miner of Lyman, and four sons 
have been born to them. He is a Congregationalist in 
religion, and a Democrat in politics. He has served for 
four years upon the board of selectmen in Bethlehem, 
having been chosen chairman of the board for the last 
three years without an opposing vote. He also repre- 
sented the town in the legislature of 1897-8, serving upon 
the committee on railroads. He belonrrs to the Masonic 




Edward E. Bishop. 



356 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

fraternity, being a member of Burns lodge, No. 66, of 
Littleton, and is also an active Patron of Husbandry, 
serving in 1897 as one of the executive committee of 
Bethlehem Grange, and as secretary of Northern New 
Hampshire Pomona Grange. He is the president of the 
Bethlehem Fair association, a new organization, which 
claims the credit of holding the best town fair in the 
state in the year 1897. 



WILLIAM F. WESTGATE, 

Haverhill. 

Among the best-known citizens of Haverhill, which 
has alvva3's ranked as one of the best agricultural towns 
in the state, is William Francis Westgate, son of the late 
Hon. Nathaniel W. and Louisa (Tyler) Westgate. He 
was born in the town of Enfield, July 5, 1852, but 
removed with his parents to Haverhill in 1856, when his 
father, a lawyer by profession, entered upon his duties 
as register of probate for the county of Grafton, to which 
office he had been appointed, and which he held until 
1861, when he was made judge of probate by Governor 
Berry, who had himself previously held the office, which 
position he filled for ten years. 

William F. Westgate was educated for the legal pro- 
fession, pursuing his preparatory studies at Meriden and 
New London, and graduating from Dartmouth college 
in 1875, one of his classmates being Frank S. Black, 
now governor of New York. He studied law with 
George F. Putnam, now of Kansas City, then in practice 
at Haverhill, and was admitted to the bar in 1880. But, 
nothwithstanding his legal training, his natural love for 
the soil has, from early life, diverted his attention to 
agriculture. He engaged in farm work in boyhood 
quite extensively from preference, and while a student. 





\ 


f 


,.*■ m 




' 4 


\ 




m^ 


i>W^ 


V 


/ 



William F. Westgate. 



358 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

bought a piece of land for himself which he cultivated, 
and has continued purchasing from time to time, till he 
has now about 1,000 acres in all, and is one of the 
largest land holders, as well as one of the most success- 
ful farmers in his section of the state. He cultivates 
from 150 to 200 acres in all, and cuts 150 tons of hay 
per annum. He has been extensively engaged in stock- 
raising and dairying, keeping from twenty to fifty cows, 
the milk from which has of late been disposed of at the 
creamery. He has usually about twenty horses, includ- 
ing some fine specimens of trotting stock. He has also 
raised swine extensively, having some years as man}^ as 
sixty head, and has found the business profitable. 

In improving his land, his object has been to get it in 
condition for long-continued fertility, then seeding to 
grass for a period of twenty years. It is largely natural 
grass land, and he has sometimes cut thirty tons of hay 
from ten acres. He raises quite an amount of corn and 
potatoes, and has made something of a specialty of 
barley, growing ten acres in a season, sometimes, sell- 
ing a large amount carefully selected for seed. 

He has erected a fine large barn, 45x100 feet, two 
large sheds, and a horse barn, 40x60, upon his farm, 
which is situated a short distance from the village, and 
recently moved a house upon the same, which is fitted 
for occupancy by farm help ; but resides, himself, with 
his brothers, Tyler and George H., the former now and 
for many years a judge of probate, and a sister, in the 
old family house in the village, which has recently been 
extensively remodeled and improved. 

Nothwithstanding his love for, and attention to, agricul- 
ture, Mr. Westgate does a large amount of law business, 
with insurance, conve3^ancing, and other office work, 
and is also extensively engaged as a civil engineer and 
surveyor, and has always been prominent in public 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 359 

affairs. He is an active Republican, and has served 
many vears as a member of the state committee of his 
party, and chairman of the county committee. He has 
served many years on the school-board, of wliich he has 
been chairman and treasurer ; was a member of the 
legislature of 1883, defeating Samuel B. Page, was 
register of probate from 1884 to 1890, and in June, 1895, 
was appointed judge of the Haverhill municipal court, 
which position he stills holds. He is a Knight of 
Pythias, and a charter member and the first overseer of 
Haverhill Grange, Patrons of Husbandry. 



WILLIAM T. WENTVVORTH, 

Dover. 

The subject of this sketch is a descendant of the emi- 
grant Elder William Wentvvorth, who came from Eng- 
land and settled in Exeter, N. H., about the year 1638, 
in the following order: William^ Ephraim'-, Ephraim'^ 
Ephraim^, Jonathan'^, Stephen'', William' (Trickey). He 
is the son of Stephen and Lois (Trickey) Wentvvorth, 
born at Hiram, Maine, April 11, 1832. 

When a young man he came to Dover, and was 
engaged in various occupations. He first worked on a 
farm, then as a teamster. He assisted in building the 
Granite State Trotting park, and the Portsmouth & Con- 
cord railroad from Candia to Manchester, and was also 
employed in the construction of the Wilmington & Dela- 
ware railroad. Subsequently, he was for some time 
engaged in lumbering and pail manufacturing, but 
finally settled upon the tarm known as the " Long Hill 
Farm " in Dover, four miles from the city proper, con- 
taining one hundred and seventy-five acres of land, 
which he now successfully cultivates. 

His specialty is dairying, and he now sends his milk 



36o 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



to the Boston market. He is a believer in ensilage, and 
annually tills a large silo, which he considers one of the 
most profitable adjuncts of the farm of to-day. 

November 12, 1856, Mr. Wentworth married Miss 
Lucinda Phipps McDonald. They have one son, Fred 
Wesley Wentworth, who has entered upon a successful 
career as an architect at Paterson, New Jersey. 

Both Mr. and Mrs. 
Wentworth were char- 
ter members of Co- 
checo Grange, and 
have always labored 
faith full}' for its suc- 
cess. They have both 
been honored officiallv 
in the subordinate and 
the Pomona Granges. 
Mr. Wentworth acted 
for many 3'ears as the 
treasurer of Cocheco 
Grange, a n d Mrs . 
Wentworth has been 
for two years its mas- 
ter. He is a member 
of Wecohamet lodge of Odd Fellows, and Wonalancet 
Tribe of Red Men of Dover. 

Mr. Wentworth has always taken an active interest 
in agricultural fairs, has been a frequent exhibitor of 
stock, fruit, and vegetables, and has Irequently secured 
first prizes. He was for seven years superintendent of 
the Strafford Count}^ farm, and made many permanent 
improvements upon the same. He is a Republican in 
politics, and has frequently been honored officially by 
his fellow-citizens. He has served as selectman, 
councilman, alderman, and represented his ward in the 




William T. Wentworth. 







•' *4ffT-'Tj^^- , t.H 



362 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

legislature in 1 868-1869. In brief, it may be said that 
Mr. Wentworth is a good example of the New England 
farmer — progressive, successful, and respected in the 
community in which he resides. 



JOHN B. BAKER, 
Bow. 

Five miles from the state house in Concord, in the 
town of Bow, about half a mile west from the Merrimack 
river, is the Baker farm, originally settled by Joseph 
Baker, son of a famous colonial surveyor of the same 
name, descending to his son James, and subsequently to 
Aaron W., son of the latter, who married Nancy Dustin, 
a descendant of the famous heroine of the Indian tragedy 
at the mouth of the Contoocook. This tarm contains 
about 125 acres of land, with 100 acres of outlands. It 
was on this place, it may be stated incidentally, that the 
celebrated Mary Baker Eddy, founder of Christian sci- 
ence, was born. 

Aaron W. Baker was a thritty, industrious farmer. 
He had four sons, two of whom are living. The elder 
son, John B., pursued the same calling, while Henry M., 
the younger, graduated from Dartmouth, studied law, 
followed his profession in Washington with financial 
success, engaged in politics, and served four years in 
congress as representative of the second New Hamp- 
shire district. 

John B. Baker was born April 6, 1834. He obtained 
a fair education in the district schools and at the famous 
Pembroke "Gymnasium," and devoted himself to agri- 
culture on the homestead, where he remained up to 
1892. Dairying was the leading specialty on this farm, 
under his father's management and his own a superior 
quality of butter being produced and sold to private cus- 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



363 



tomers in Concord, the Downing I'amil}-, for instance, 
being supplied with table butter iVom this source for 
more than sixty years in succession. 

Mr. Baker was united in marriage November 14, 
1865, with Miss Sarah Jane Locke. They have had two 
sons, the younger of whom died at the age of tliirteen. 
The elder, Rufus H., born March 16, 1870, is a gradu- 
ate of Dartmouth of the class of 1893, and has adopted 
the legal profession. He was married to Miss Grace L. 

Tuck, August 13, 1896. 
They have a son, Per- 
ley Dustin, born May 
8, 1897. Mr. Baker is 
liberal in his religious 
views, and politically 
a Republican. Resid- 
ing in a town which 
has been strongly Dem- 
ocratic until quite re- 
cently, he has natural- 
ly not been called into 
public service to any 
great extent, but has 
served his town as 
treasurer ; and at the 
last election, Novem- 
ber, 1896, was chosen its representative in the legisla- 
ture, in which body he served efficiently as a member of 
the committee on revision of the statutes. 

Some years ago he became interested in the order of 
Patrons of Husbandr}^ and, there being no grange in 
Bow, he joined that at Hooksett, being a member of the 
first class initiated in that grange, with which he was 
connected several years, up to 1894, when he withdrew 
and united with the new grange which had been estab- 




JOHN B. Baker. 



364 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



lished in Bow, in which organization he served as over- 
seer in 1896. Five years ago, or in 1892, Mr. Baker 
removed from the homestead, and now has his residence 
upon a small but productive and well-tilled farm near the 
northern boundary of the town, and two miles from the 
centre of business in Concord. 



GEORGE B. KIMBALL, 

Grafton. 

The observing traveler by rail from Concord to Leb- 
anon, on approaching the Grafton station, beholds a fine 
stretch of meadow to the right, and a spacious set of 

farm buildings, indica- 
tive of thrift and pros- 
perity. Here is the 
well-known Kimball 
farm, of which the late 
Peter Kimball, one of 
the most prominent 
agriculturists of his 
time, was for many 
years proprietor. 

Peter Kimball, a 
member of the noted 
Kimball family of Bos- 
cawen, was born in 
that town, March 25, 
1817. He was reared 
to tarm life, but en- 




GeORGE B. KiMIiALL. 



gaged for a number of years in mercantile business in 
different places, and was subsequently for a time on the 
home farm in Boscawen. 

He married, February 20, 1851, Nancy A. Adams of 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



365 



Grafton, and two years later established liis home on the 
farm in question, in tliat town, where he was extensively 
engaged in stock breeding, actively connected with agri- 
cultural societies, and a leading exhibitor at fairs, up to 




The Klmi'.all Home, Grafton. 

the time of his decease, in March, 1881. He left four 
children, two daughters and two sons. Of the former, 
the elder, Mary A., is the wife of Dr. E. M. Tucker of 
Canaan, while Carrie A., the younger, is Mrs. W. E. 
Swentzel of Kansas City, Missouri. The elder son, Cyrus 
A., is engaged in the hotel business at Canaan, while 
the younger, George Ben, remains at home with his 
mother, and manages the farm, which includes, in 
all, about 600 acres of land, much of which is in for- 
est. The mowing and tillage include about ninety 
acres, much of which is natural meadow, watered by 
Smith's river, and superior grass land. The annual 
hay crop amounts to about 100 tons, and there is also a 
silo of 100 tons capacity. The stock consists of about 
forty-five head of cattle, including from fifteen to eight- 
een cows, eight horses, and sixty sheep, with some eight 
or ten swine. The milk is sold at the station, a mile 



366 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

away, for the Boston market. The buildings are excel- 
lent, including a substantial brick house, and fine sta- 
ble, and a large stock barn 44 x 100 teet, with cellar 
under tiie whole, supplied with hot and cold water, and 
all modern appliances. 

George B. Kimball was born January 28, 1865. and 
has spent his life on the farm, which he now manages 
except such time as was passed in securing an education 
in the common school and at New Hampton Institution. 
He is known as " a hustler," and carries on extensive 
operations by contract, aside from his regular farm 
work, in lumbering, haying, and other lines, cutting the 
hay for instance, on some two hundred acres of land 
for other parties the past season. He is a Republican in 
politics, and represented the town of Gral'ton in the legis- 
lature in 1895. He is a member of the New Hampshire 
Society of the Sons of the Revolution, and of the Knigrhts 
of Pythias. 



WILLARD BILL, JR., 

Westmoreland. 

Willard Bill, Jr., was born in Westmoreland on tiie 
old homestead on which he has always resided, October 
14, 1839. He was the only child of Willard and Clarissa 
(Esty) Bill. The Bill homestead has been occupied by 
father and son tor sixty-two years uninterruptedly. Its 
extensive area, and its spacious mansion of " ye olden 
time" are well known, being built in the most thorough 
manner in 1792, and bearing evidence that timely repairs 
withstand tiie ravages of a century. The farm that is 
more complete in every line is rare, though a few may 
surpass it in some one specialty. It is a landed estate 
that invites diversified farming, wliich has been pursued 
by both father and son. 



PERSONAI. AND FARM SKETCHES. 



367 



After completing his round of the common schools, 
Mr. Bill attended the seminary at Westminster, Vt., and 
Powers Institute at Bernardston, Mass., then under 
charo-e of that famed teacher, L. F. Ward, where he 
ranked well in his classes. For three or more genera- 
tions the Bills have been noted for superiority as teachers 
of common schools. Willard, Jr., was in wide demand, 

being especially noted 
for "straightening" 
out the unruly schools, 
in whicii work he was 
very successful. Mr. 
Bill has been called 
upon to act in public 
and official positions 
many times, though 
being very far from 
an office-seeker. He 
has been selectman 
seven years, moder- 
ator ten years, county 
commissioner three 
years, and is at pres- 
WiLLARD Bill, Jr. ^^^ ^^ active member 

of the State Board of Agriculture, and of positions of 
public and private trust he is largely laden. 

Mr. Bill is easily first in promoting public enterprise 
in his native town, and his successes have been and are 
many. The splendid free town library has been ver}' 
largelv the work of Mr. Bill, having received very little 
assistance either in the selection of its books, in its 
management, or in its origination. The town Mutual 
Fire Insurance association, which for twenty-five years 
has been a success, was " blocked out" by him, and of 
which he was secretary for eighteen years, until his 




368 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

resignation. In the settlement of estates and in care of 
them he has always been active, and in this line he has 
had much to do. " His word is as good as his bond," 
is a common saying of his townsmen, over which he 
feels a justifiable pride. Soon after he reached his 
majority, he was commissioned a justice of the peace, 
and from that time to the present his services in this 
direction have been in demand. 

Mr. Bill's life has been a noted one for diversity of 
pursuits and for abilit}^ of execution. His counsel is 
always in demand, his honesty and faithfulness are 
unquestioned. As a Patron of Husbandry, he has been 
active and influential, both in the Great Meadow Grange 
of which he is a member, and also of his Pomona. He 
has been secretary, master, and chaplain of his grange. 

April 12, 1866, he was married to Ellen O. Isham of 
Gilsum. They have had two children, — Clara F. who 
married Walter S. Hutchins of Fichburg, Mass., and 
Jennie L., both of whom inherit largely the Bill charac- 
teristic qualifications. 



JONATHAN ROWE, 

Newburv. 

There is no more rugged territory to be found in the 
state than that embraced within the limits of the town of 
Newbury, and yet, notwithstanding its rocky and uneven 
surface, it is by no means one of the least productive of 
the agricultural towns of the state, being specially 
adapted to grazing and stock growing, while potatoes 
and all the cereal crops are produced in good quantity 
and superior quality, as all observing attendants of the 
Bradford and Newbury fair are very well aware. 
Newbury has, indeed, contributed its full share toward 
the splendid stock and produce exhibits at this fair since 



PERSONAI. AND FARINI SKETCHES. 



369 



its organization, and since the death of the first presi- 
dent, the late Col. Mason W. Tappan of Bradford, has 
furnished a president for the fair association, the present 
incumbent, Jonathan Rowe, Esq., now serving for the 
fifth year. 

Mr. Rowe is a native of Newbury, being the oldest 
son of Himan and Eliza (Ring) Rowe and grandson 
of the late Rev. Jonathan Rowe, whose name he bears, 
born Julv 28, 1834, on a farm adjacent to that upon 

which he now resides, 
and which is at pres- 
ent included in the ex- 
tensive landed estate 
of Col. John Hay, ad- 
jacent to his spacious 
and elegant summer 
cottage overlooking 
Sunapeelake. Reared 
to farm labor, he never- 
theless secured a good 
education in the com- 
mon schools and at the 
New London acade- 
my, and, like a large 
proportion of the in- 
telligent and enter- 




JoNATHAN Rowe. 



prising young men of his generation, was engaged in 
teaching school in winter for a number of years, with 
much success in adjacent towns. Possessed of musical 
talent in a marked degree, he pursued his studies in 
that direction to a considerable extent, and has, during 
all his life, sung in the choir at church services and on 
other public occasions. 

Mr. Rowe was united in marriage, February 24, 1859, 
with Louisa M. Stevens, daughter of John and Lois 

24 



370 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



Stevens of Newbury, and established his residence upon 
the old Stevens homestead, where his wife was born, 
and where they have since resided. They have one 
daughter, Nellie L., and an adopted son, Edward C, 
died at the age of nine years and live days. The farm 
was originally a large one, but a portion of it was sold 
a few years since to Colonel Hay, and it is upon this 
portion that the summer residence of the latter was 




Residence of Jonathan Rowe, Newi'.urv. 

erected. Mr. Rowe pursued mixed farming, with stock- 
raising as a leading feature. Summer boarding has also 
been engaged in at the farm to a considerable extent in 
past years, the location adjacent to Sunapee lake, and 
commanding a fine view of it, being most favorable 
therefor. It is about two miles from Newbury station, 
on the New London road, and about the same distance 
from Blodgett's Landing. 

For many years Mr. Rowe was engaged as a produce 
dealer, buying extensively throughout the surrounding 
country, and selling in the difterent markets. In this 
capacity he carred the first potatoes shipped over the 
Concord & Claremont road after the opening of the line. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 37 1 

In politics, Mr. Rowe is a Democrat. He has filled 
most offices in tiie gift of his townsmen, including those 
of school committee, tax collector, and selectman, in the 
latter capacity several years as chairman of the board. 
He was road agent two years, chosen under the new 
highway law, and also represented his town in the legis- 
lature of 1893-4, taking an active part in the practical 
work of the session. He is a justice of the peace and 
quorum throughout the state, and has held a commission 
for more than forty years. 

Mr. Rowe has been a member of St. Peter's lodge of 
Free Masons at Bradford, for forty years, and was for 
seven years W. M. and a member of the Chapter of the 
Tabernacle of Royal Arch Masons of Newport. He is 
also an active Odd Fellow, having originally joined 
Sugar River lodge at Newport, but became a charter 
member of Massassecum lodge at Bradford, for which 
organization he wrote the by-laws. He has passed the 
chairs in the lodge, and also served as district deput}'. 
He was also for a time a member and otlicer of Brad- 
ford Grange, Patrons of Husbandry. 



LUCIEN THOMPSON, 
Durham. 
The Thompson family has ever been conspicuous in 
the town of Durham, and prominent in the history of the 
state. The first of the name in New Hampshire was Wil- 
liam Thompson, who was a resident of Dover as early as 
1647. His son, John, established himself in Durham, 
then known as the Oyster River settlement, where he 
had received a grant of land in 1694, which embraced a 
part of the present Thompson estate. He married 
Sarah, daughter of Capt. John Woodman, proprietor of 
the famous Woodman garrison. His son, Robert, 




LuciEN Thompson. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 373 

located on the present Thompson farm, and built a house 
upon the same site occupied by the present mansion. 
Robert Thompson was the father of Ebenezer, familiarly 
known as "Judge" Thompson, who took a most con- 
spicuous part in the Revolutionary history of the state, 
beino- a member of the " Committee of Safety," one of 
the party which captured Fort William and Mary at 
Newcastle, Dec. 14, 1774, a leading member of the pro- 
vincial congress, and the first secretary of state under 
the state government, serving in that capacity during 
the entire war period. Subsequently he was for fifteen 
years a judge of the Supreme Court and of the Court of 
Common Pleas for Straflbrd County. Judge Thompson 
built the maifn portion of the present residence on the 
Thompson farm. His son, Benjamin, succeeded to the 
estate, and was followed by his son, Ebenezer, a brother 
of Benjamin, who made the munificent donation to the 
state for the endowment of the Agricultural college. 
Ebenezer was in turn succeeded by his son, Ebenezer, 
whose son, Lucien, is the present proprietor. 

Lucien Thompson, son of Ebenezer and Nancy G. 
(Carr) Thompson, was born on the old homestead, June 
3, 1859. When he was ten years of age, his father died, 
and his mother soon removed temporarily to Manchester, 
where Lucien was educated in the public schools, graduat- 
ing from the High school in the class of 1877, of which he 
was the salutatorian. The following year the family 
returned to Durham, since which time he has been in 
charge of the farm and actively engaged in the pursuit 
of agriculture. 

The Thompson farm, which is located about half a 
mile to the northeast of the railway station in Durham, 
embraces about two hundred acres of land at the present 
time, and produces annually fifty tons or more of hay 
and other tbdder. Fruit, milk, poultry, and pork are the 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 375 

leading specialties. Tiie buildings are spacious and 
convenient, the dwelling being a fine old mansion with 
modern improvements, while the main barn, 84x44 feet, 
with cellar under the whole, is one of the best in the 
region. 

Mr. Thompson has been prominently engaged in pub- 
lic affairs for several years past, having been a member 
of the board of supervisors in Durham, in 1884-5, repre- 
senting the town in the legislature of 1887-8, when he 
was a member and secretary of the committee on educa- 
tion, and serving as moderator for the last six years. 
He was appointed a member of the State Board of Agri- 
culture in October, 1887, and was reappointed for 
another term in 1890, but resigned in 1892, when he was 
appointed a member of the board of trustees of the New 
Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic 
Arts, which latter position he now holds, having been 
reappointed, and serving also as secretary of the board 
since June, 1896. 

Politically, Mr. Thompson is a Republican, and in reli- 
gion a Congregationalist, and an active member of the 
Congregational church in Durham. He is a member of 
the society of the Sons of the American Revolution, and 
of Scammell grange. Patrons of Husbandry, of Durham, 
being a charter member, the first secretar}^ and second 
master of the latter organization. He held the master's 
office four years, during which time the grange increased 
greatly in membership and influence. He was also for 
two years lecturer of the Eastern New Hampshire 
Pomona Grange, and two years a member of the execu- 
tive committee of the State Grange. He has strong liter- 
ar}' tastes, with a penchant for historical research, and 
has written extensively for the press. He has one of the 
best private libraries in the state, largely bequeathed 
him by his aunt, the late Miss Mary P. Thompson of 



376 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



Durham, for the proper accommodation of which he has 
added a wing to tlie family mansion. 

April 6, 1887, he was united in marriage with Mary 
Lizzie, daughter of the late Henry A. and Lizzie (New- 
ell) Gage of Manchester. They have three children, 
Robert Gage, born Sept. 17, 1888 ; Ruth Elizabeth, 
March 16, 1891, and Helen Pickering, Jan. 13, 1895. 



JOSEPH AVERY VVHITCHER. 
Strafford. 
The traveler, journeying from Dover to Concord by 
the old " Province Road," after passing the far-famed 
Bow Lake, pursuing his way through the long w^oods, 
comes to a series of long, steep hills, fragments of the 
old " Blue Hills" : the top is soon reached, aud there. 




The WinxcHER Homestead, Strafford. 

sentineled by a sturdy rock-maple tree, planted more 
than a half-century ago by the hand now resting in the 
little farm burying-yard, he sees the modest farm home, 
herewith pictured, the residence of the late Joseph A. 
Whitcher. A stubborn and rocky soil, under his strong 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 377 

hand and quick brain was beaten and molded into a 
productive, profitable farm, a demonstration that in the 
middle of the present century farming paid. On this 
farm, progress was the watchword. The first cast-iron 
plow used in this region was owned by the Whitchers. 
They were in the lead in the use of mowing-machine, 
horse-rake, and other new and improved farm machin- 
ery . 

The Whitchers are descendants of Thomas Whittier,* 
who sailed from Southampton, England, with John Dob- 
son, master, in the ship Conjidencc. landing in Salem, 
Mass., in April, 1638. Salisbury and Newbury were 
respectively the dwelling-places of Thomas Whittier 
until 1650, w^hen he moved to Haverhill, Mass., where 
he died November 28, 1696, in his seventy-seventh year. 
Haverhill records show that on May 23d, 1666, he was 
admitted as a freeman. 

Of his ten children we shall notice but two, Joseph and 
Nathaniel. 

The line of descent from Thomas Whittier to the sub- 
ject of this sketch is : 

Thomas, Nathaniel, Reuben, Benjamin, William, 
William Jr., and Joseph A. The other son, Joseph, is 
the head of a line ending with the " Q^iaker poet," John 
Greenleaf Whittier. 

William Whitcher, Jr., and his wife xAbigail (Avery) 
Whitcher lived in Epping, N. H., where their five chil- 
dren, Naomi, Jonathan E., Susan F., Joseph A., and 
Caleb F., were born and lived undl 1837. The educa- 
tion afforded by the district school on Red Oak Hill was 
all that the income from the little grist-mill and the labor 
of the father at the millwright's trade could afford. 
Joseph A. tended the mill and studied his arithmetic, 

* The names Whittier, Whitcher, and Whicher are used indiscriminately by 
various branches of the family. , 



378 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



geography, spelling, and reading as the golden grain 
was ground into meal from which the coarse but whole- 
some food of the sturdy New England population of that 
time, was prepared. 

In September, 1836, William Whitcher bought tiie 
farm in Strafford of Isaac Swain, and in February, 1837, 
the family moved there. The buildings were old and 
the farm impoverished, and without suitable stock and 
tools. Strong hands ~and firm determination, together 

with frugality, soon 
bettered these condi- 
tions. In February, 
1839, William Whitch- 
er died in his fifty- 
sixth year, leaving the 
boys to battle with 
debt. The winter eve- 
nings were made prof- 
itable by shoemaking, 
and the autumn saw 
waving grain and ri- 
pening corn. In 1844, 
the buildings were re- 
paired ; in 1847 more 
land was bought, and 
again in 1869 and 
1883 still more was added, so that the farm consisted of 
two hundred and fifty acres in good condition, with mod- 
ern buildings, stock and tools, and all paid for from the 
earnings of the farm itself. 

In politics most of the Whitchers are Democrats, 
and Joseph A. was no exception. During the trouble- 
some days of the war he was one of the selectmen of 
Strafford, and was active in guarding the rights of his 
, fellow-citizens. Later, when a few men for political rea- 




JosEPH A. Whitchkr. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



179 



sons attempted to divide the town, his active opposition 
did much to thwart their designs. In town-meetings his 
voice was ever heard on the side of economy, and the 
taxpayers always found him working in their interest. 
In 1876 he was chosen to represent the town in the legis- 
hiture and was re-elected in 1877, serving both years on 
important committees. While at Concord he became 
familiar wnth the aims of the State Agricultural college, 
and in 1878 he sent his youngest son to that institution. 

In September, 1885, 
while in the full pos- 
session of mental and 
physical powers, he 
was suddenly stricken 
with apoplexy, and 
thoucfh livinfj several 
years, never fully re- 
covered, but slowly de- 
clined, passing peace- 
fully away with his 
wife and sons around 
his bedside, Jul}' 7, 
I 8 9 I . He was a 
kind and affectionate 
husband, a just and 
thoughtful father, a 
true and loyal citizen, his full share of life's work cheer- 
full}' and faithfully done, and the world the better for his 
having lived. 

August 28, 1846, Joseph A. Whitcher married Martha 
Emerson, a self-reliant woman, who had helped to sup- 
port her father's large family by money earned as weaver 
in the Cocheco mills at Dover, to and from which she 
many times walked. Martha (Emerson) Whitcher 
wearied not of honorable toil, and at eighty years was 




Chas. W. Whitcher and Nephew. 



38o 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



doing her life's work cheerfully, uncomplainingly, ever 
anxious for the happiness of others. No truer wife, no 
better mother ever lived. Five children blessed the 
union of this couple, two girls, Abbie E., and an infant, 
both dead, and three sons, Charles W., Joseph E., and 
George H., all living, and who, with Harold P., son of 
Joseph E., are all the male representatives of the family 
of William Whitcher. 

Charles W. Whitcher lives on the old farm, and, though 
an invalid, is active and useful in the community. As a 
boy, he was an exceptionall}' good scholar and attended 
Pittsfield academy with a view to obtaining a college 
education, but sickness compelled the abandonment of 
this plan. In politics, he is a Democrat, and has been a 
member of the board of education many times, and has 
also taught many terms ot school in his native town. 

For a year he was 
the clerk of the New 
Hampshire Experi- 
ment station at Han- 
over, under his broth- 
er. Prof. George H. 
Whitcher. 

Joseph E. Whitcher 
is now the main de- 
pendence of the fam- 
ily, in managing the 
farm and building up 
the herd of thorough- 
bred Ayrshire cattle, 
now the chief source 
of income. He re- 
JosEPH E. Whitcher. ^^-^^.^^ ^ g^^^j educa- 

tion at Coe's academy. He is a Democrat, yet he 
cares little for political matters. He is a member of the 




PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 381 

Grange and an Odd Fellow, with a host of friends and 
few enemies. He married Abbie D. Perkins of Straf- 
ford. They have two children, Harold P., whose por- 
trait is shown with his Uncle Charles, and Alice. Jo- 
seph E. Whitcher is one of New Hampshire's best 
farmers. 

PROF. GEORGE H. WHITCHER, 

youngest son of Joseph A. and Martha Whitcher, was 
born Nov. 23, i860, and attended school at Coe's acad- 
emy in 1S76, and Pittsfield academy in 1877. In August, 
1878, he entered the Freshman class of the Agricultural 
college at Hanover, and graduated in 1881, having led 
his class, taking the Smyth prize for best essay. He re- 
turned to the farm for a year, and then engaged in the 
manufacturing business in Massachusetts. In Decem- 
ber. 1883, he was chosen superintendent of the college 
farm at Hanover, assuming control in March, 1884. In 
April, 1885, he was chosen professor of agriculture, be- 
ing the first to occupy that chair. On Feb. 22, 1888, 
Professor Whitcher was chosen director of the experi- 
ment station, the work of organizing and equipping that 
institution falling largely upon him. 

When the question of the removal of the college to 
Durham was agitated. Professor Whitcher was among 
the first to advocate the change, and worked persistently 
both at the college and before the legislature to secure 
the adoption of a plan that should accomplish the desired 

result. 

The first work of construction at Durham was com- 
menced Sept. 14, 1891, under Professor Whitcher's per- 
sonal supervision, and the finest barn in the state was 
erected, one with modern conveniences and so located 
that level entrances were had for the basement and three 
floors. The plans were drawn and the design origi- 



382 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



nated by Mr. Whitcher, and the work completed under 
his oversight. The experiment station was also built by 
Professor Whitcher. 

In the lecture field he has been employed many times 
by the Maine and Massachusetts boards of agriculture, 
and has lectured in most of the towns in New Hamp- 
shire, and at Dairyman's associations in Vermont and 
other states, delivering over five hundred lectures on 
practical agriculture. He represented the experiment 
station at the national meetings, twice at Washington, 
once at Nashville, and once at New Orleans. 

Professor Whitcher was the first to point out and dem- 
onstrate the need of more potash in fertilizers for New 
England, and the for- 
mulas first prepared 
and tested by himself, 
both at the home farm 
in Strafford, and on 
the college farm at 
Hanover, are used by 
hundreds of the best 
known farmers in New 
Hampshire, Massa- 
chusetts, and Maine. 
The bulletins from his 
pen, issued by the ex- 
periment station, have 
been recognized as 
authoritative not only 
in the United States, 
but in England, Aus- 
tria, and Australia, and some of them were reissued, with 
credit, by the experiment stations of other states, because 
of their scientific and practical value. In politics, Mr. 
Whitcher is a Democrat, who never deserts his party or 




Pkoi'. CiKoiUii-: H. Whitcher. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 383 

principles. Circumstances have always been unfavor- 
able for political preferment, as he has lived in strongly 
Republican towns, but in 1890, as a candidate for the 
legislature in Hanover, he cut the normal Republican 
majority of one hundred down to less than thirty. Since 
he has lived in Durham he has been almost unanimously 
elected as member of the board of education, and in 1896 
was chosen treasurer, against a Republican majority of 
eighty. In the fall of 1896 he ran for the legislature 
under the most unfavorable circumstances, owing to the 
stampede of Eastern Democrats in the Br3'an campaign, 
and while the normal Republican majority in the town 
was about one hundred and twenty-live, he was beaten 
by only twenty-seven votes. In the spring of 1897, he 
was elected second member of the board of selectmen in 
Durham, by a large majority. 

Since the removal of the college to Durham, he has 
bought a tract of land, formerly swamp and pasture, and 
improved it, raising hay, potatoes, strawberries, and 
fruit. On this land he has personally designed and con- 
structed six modern houses, a dormitory and a four-story 
business block, known as Whitcher block, in which is 
one of the tinest halls to be found in any country town in 
the state. A water supply for these and other houses has 
been constructed on his own land, and house lots sold to 
others, until the residence section of the town is now 
largely on his land. For two years he acted as general 
agent for the Bowker Fertilizer Company. 

The natural mechanical ability, which he inherited 
from his father, stands him in good stead, as he designs 
and makes working drawings for his buildings, and then 
personally superintends the construction and puts in the 
heating apparatus according to his own ideas and plans, 
thus saving much of the cost of building. 

Professor Whitcher is an enthusiastic Odd Fellow, a 



384 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



member of Good Samaritan lodge, No. 75, of Hanover; 
he is also a Patron of Husbandry. At present he is 
engaged in erecting an electric light plant for the town 
of Durham. 



CHARLES B. HOYT, 

Sandwich. 

No town in our state is better known for its fine farms 
and progressive farmers than Sandwich, and among all 
the beautiful domains that dot the Sandwich hills, none 
is more beautiful or more widel}' known than the old 
Hoyt farm, which stands on a high liill overlooking the 

village, and was set- 
tled about 1768 by 
Joseph Hoyt, and ever 
since occupied by his 
descendants, the pres- 
ent occupants being 
Benjamin Burleigh 
Hoyt and his son, 
Charles B. 

The original farm, 
with additions made 
from time to time, now 
embraces 560 acres. 
The owners are en- 
gaged in mixed farm- 
ing, hay being the 
principal crop. Twen- 
ty-two head of cattle, 
three horses, and a fine flock of twenty-one sheep are 
being kept, and this is about the average stock. 

Charles Burleigh Hoyt, the son of Benjamin B. and 
Caroline (Quimby)JHoyt, was born in Sandwich, Decem- 




Charles B. Hoyt. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 385 

ber 12, 1859, ^^^'^ ^^^' years has been recognized as a 
leading citizen, being active!}^ interested in all that per- 
tains to the welfare of the town. He was graduated from 
New Hampton Institution in 1882 ; taught school several 
winters, and was a member of the school-board for six 
years. When the creamery was started in 1889, he was 
one of the prime movers, did much toward its establish- 
ment, and was a director and clerk of the corporation 
until its sale to private parties in 1894. In politics, he is 
a Republican, being at the present time one of the select- 
men, and moderator of the town-meeting. In '95 and 
'96 he was deputy sheriff for Carroll county. He joined 
Red Mountain lodge, A. F. and A. M. in 1885, of 
which he was master twice. In the Grand lodge he was 
for two years R. W. Grand Lecturer for district number 
six, and is now serving his second term as R. W. 
district deputy grand master for the same district. 

From the early days of the order of Patrons of Hus- 
bandry in Carroll county he has been an earnest and 
efficient worker. He was a charter member of Mt. 
Israel Grange, its lirst lecturer, and master for three 
years. He was also a charter member of Carroll 
County Pomona Grange, of which he is the present 
master. He has held the office of District Deputy of the 
State Grange, since 1894, and to his interest and wise 
counsel much of the success of the order in the district 
is due. 

In November, 1897, he was appointed a member of 
the State Board of Agriculture. 

He is unmarried. His only brother, George S. Hoyt, 
with his wife and two children, resides upon a farm 
about two miles distant. 

25 



386 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



HERBERT N. SAWYER, 
Atkinson. 

Many of the towns along the southern border of the 
state are favorably situated with reference to agricultural 
success, on account of proximity to the excellent markets 
afforded by Massachusetts cities, prominent among 
which is Haverhill; and Atkinson, one of the best agri- 
cultural towns in Rockingham count3s is particularly 
favored in that it adjoins this flourishing city whose mar- 
ket advantages are among the best. 

The leading farmer of Atkinson, and one of the most 
extensive milk producers in the state, is Herbert N, Saw- 
yer, son of Jesse x\u- 
gustus and Elizabeth 
B. (Noyes) Sawyer, 
who was born on the 
farm where he now 
resides, and which has 
ever been his home, 
July 6, i860. This 
farm, which is located 
near the southern bor- 
der of the town, about 
a mile and a half from 
the Academy village, 
and six miles from 
Haverhill, was pur- 
chased by Mr. Saw- 
yer's father, who was 
a native of Atkinson, 
reared on another of its excellent farms, in 1853, and has 
been materially improved since that time. The land has 
been brought into an excellent state of cultivation, and the 
buildings are among the most commodious and complete 




Herbert N. Sawyer. 



388 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

to be found upon any farm in the county. A substantial 
two-story house is connected by an ell with a spacious 
stock barn 40 x 120 feet. There are other necessary 
buildings, and a new dwelling, near by, occupied by the 
elder Mr. Sawyer since Herbert N. took charge of the 
farm work upon his marriage, Oct. 17, 1886, with Miss 
N. Grace Pettengill of Atkinson, an intelligent and 
accomplished yovmg lady, who proves a most efficient 
and encouraging helpmeet. 

Mr. Sawyer was educated in the public schools and 
Atkinson academy, and his highest ambition has been to 
discover and apply the most intelligent methods in pro- 
moting agricultural success, while neglecting none of 
the obligations of citizenship or the just demands of soci- 
ety. Butter production was formerly the leading 
specialty of the farm, but milk for the Haverhill retail 
market has been found more protitable of late, and to 
this attention is mainly given. About sixty cows are 
kept, selected for their milking qualities, and eight 
horses are used for farm and marketing purposes. 
There are about one hundred and forty acres in the 
home farm, and another farm of seventy acres, near by, 
has been purchased by the 3'oung man. The hay crop 
reaches about one iuindred tons, and about sixteen acres 
of corn are raised for fodder, which is cut and ted dry in 
preference to ensilage. A steam-engine lurnishes power 
for cutting, also for unloading hay and fodder, sawing 
wood, pumping water, and other necessary work, the 
fine mechanical ingenuitv of Mr. Sawyer devising means 
for applying the power to a great variety of uses. 

Mr. Sawyer is a Universalist in religious belief, and a 
Republican in politics. He was elected on the board of 
selectmen in 1895, '96 and '97, and has been a member 
cf the school-board since the town system was adopted. 
He has been an active member of Atkinson Grange since 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 389 

1890, and master for 1896 and 1897. He is also a mem- 
ber of Mizpah lodge, I. O. O. F., of Haverhill, Mass. 
For several years past, Mr. Sawyer has been an agent for 
the sale of Bradley's fertilizer and various agricultural 
implements, in his section of the state- 
Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer have two sons, Arthur Herbert, 
born March 8, 1889, and Clifford Augustus, Aug. 30, 
1894. 



THOMAS J. COURSER, 

Webster. 

Few men in Merrimack county enjoy a larger acquaint- 
ance than Thomas J. Courser of Webster, whose genial 
manner and active business characteristics have brought 
him into familiar relations with a large number of peo- 
ple. Mr. Courser is a son of the late William B. and 
Nancy (Morey). Courser, born in the town of Wilmot, 
July 20, 1837. I" ^"^^s infancy, his father, who was a 
farmer, removed to the town of Warner, locating in the 
district known as " Schoodac." His parents being in 
limited circumstances, he began at an earlv age to 
make his own way in the world, earning his own living 
after nine vears of age. He attended the common 
school as far as practicable, and subsequently secured 
the benefit of instruction for a few terms, at the Con- 
toocook academy. He had become thoroughly familiar 
with the labor and methods incident to general farm 
management, and at the age of twenty-one entered the 
employ of Dr. Robert Lane of Sutton, where he was 
engaged for eight years. 

May I, 1866, he was united in marriage with Miss 
Sarah E. Todd of New London, and located on the 
farm in Webster which he has since occupied, in the 
westerly portion of the town, about five miles from 




Thomas J. Courser. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 39I 

Warner village, where is his post-office and business 
address. This farm embraces about 200 acres of land 
altogether, and produces some fifty tons of hay, with a 
good amount of corn and other crops. Mr. Courser has 
also some 400 acres of land elsewhere, in Warner and 
Sutton, largely pasture and woodland. He raises cattle, 
sheep and hogs, quite extensively, and usually keeps 
half a dozen horses. He sells cattle to a considerable 
extent in the local market, and has purchased quite 
extensively for Brighton and Watertown for the last 
twenty-five years, thus coming into business contact 
with the farmers through a large section of this state and 
Vermont. 

His first wife dying, Mr. Courser subsequently (Octo- 
ber 26, 1876) married Addie E. Marden of New Boston, 
his present wife. Three children by the first marriage 
are living — a son, Fred W., who has always remained 
at home, and now has practical charge of the farm 
work, and two daughters, Emma J. and Sarah A., edu- 
cated at New Hampton and Warner, and now located in 
Concord. One son, Charles Henry, by the second mar- 
riage, now nineteen years of age, is a student at the 
New Hampshire College of Agriculture and Mechanic 
Arts at Durham. 

Energy and industry have characterized Mr. Courser, 
both in his farm work and his commercial operations, 
through his entire career thus far, and these, with strict 
integrity, have insured substantial success, as well as 
the respect and confidence of his neighbors and asso- 
ciates. Nor has he been unmindful of his duties as a 
citizen. He is a thorough-going Democrat in polidcs, is 
always in attendance upon the state and county con- 
ventions of his part3s and works earnestly for its success. 
He has served two years as deputy sherifl^, and four 
years upon the board of commissioners for Merrimack 



392 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

county. In 1892, although his town has always been 
strongly Republican, he was elected to the state legisla- 
ture, and rendered efficient service in that body. 

Mr. Courser joined Warner Grange, P. of H., in 
1879, ^^^ ^'^^^ been an active member, holding the 
offices of steward, overseer, and master, and is a member 
of the Merrimack County Pomona Grange. His wife is 
also an efficient and devoted member of both the Subor- 
dinate and Pomona Granges. He is also a member of 
Central lodge, No. 67, I. O. O. F., of Warner. 



SUMNER N. BALL, 
Washington. 

Among the men who have succeeded in demonstrating 
the fact that agriculture can be made to pay in a rocky 
and mountainous back tow'n in New^ Hampshire, a 
dozen miles from railroad facilities, even in these recent 
years of hard times and business depression, is Sumner 
N. Ball of Washington, a son of Dexter and Hannah 
Ball, born in that town June 3, 1854. He lived at home 
on the farm, and worked in the shops of his native town, 
meanwhile improving the educational advantages offered 
by the public schools and Tubbs Union academy, until 
twenty-one years of age, when, in 1875, he went to 
Antrim and entered the employ of Hon. David H. 
Goodell, subsequently governor of the state, upon whose 
famous " Maple Grove Farm " he was foreman for five 
years. He then purchased the job printing plant in 
Antrim village, and established a local newspaper — the 
Antrhn Reporter — in connection therewith, conducting 
the same successfully for another five years' period, at 
the end of which time he disposed of the business, and, 
in 1886, returned to Washington and purchased the old 
homestead which had been owned by his grandfather. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



393 



John Ball, who went from Antrim to Washington in 
1835, '^"<^^ ^^^^^^ "'' 1883. The farm, which had been 
leased to tenants upon his grandfather's death, had 
become somewhat ^' run down," and the buildings were 
going to decay ; but the latter have all been put in good 
condition, and the land brought into an excellent state of 
cultivation. 

The farm embraces 250 acres of moist clay loam. It 
is situated on a high 
elevation about a mile 
and a half west of 
Washington Center, 
and bordering on Mil- 
len Lake, one of the 
most beautiful sheets 
of water to be found 
in New Hampshire, 
being finely located 
for summer boarders. 
It is now known as 
" Oak Hill Farm." 
Cows and sheep are 
the principal stock, 
and thoroughbred an- 
imals are sought in 
each line. Butter, lambs, poultry, and maple sugar 
are the products mainly relied upon for revenue. 

Mr. Ball was united in marriage, November 26, 1884, 
with Miss Carrie B. Brooks of Antrim. They have two 
children — ^John S., born August 30, 1886, and Nina M., 
February 27, 1889. In religion he is a Bapdst, and in 
politics a Republican. He has served his town four 
years as a selectman, and ten years successively as a 
member of the school-board, being secretary and treas- 
urer of the same most of the time. He is at present a 




Sumner N. Ball. 



394 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

town auditor, and also a member of the board of trustees 
of Tubbs Union academy. In 1896 he was the candi- 
date of his party for representative in the legislature, 
and lacked only five votes of election in a decidedly 
Democratic town. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., 
and has passed the chairs in his lodge. He is also an 
active member of Lovell Grange, No. 5, P. of H., in 
which organization he has taken a deep interest, and 
served as master from 1893 to 1897, during which time 
the membership was doubled. He was master of Sulli- 
van County Pomona Grange in 1895, and is at present a 
State Grange deputy for District No. 17. Mrs. Ball is 
also active and earnest in Grange work, and is the 
present worthy Pomona of the State Grange. 



OILMAN GREENOUGH, 

Atkinson. 

There is no man in the section of the state contiguous 
to the Boston & Maine railroad between the town of 
Exeter and the city of Haverhill, Mass., who enjoys a 
wider acquaintance, or is more favorably known than 
Gilman Greenough of Atkinson. Mr. Greenough is a 
son of the late Richard and Hannah B. (Towle) Green- 
ough, born on the old " Peter Clement place," where he 
now resides. May 29, 1835. ^^ ^^^^ educated in the 
common schools and at Atkinson academ^^, where he 
was for some time under the instruction of William C. 
Todd of that town, the well-known educator, now 
specially noted for his recent liberal donation to the Bos- 
ton public library, for the maintenance of a newspaper 
reading-room. 

Though born and reared on a farm and making agri- 
culture the basis of his life-work, Mr. Greenough has 



39^ 



NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



been extensively engaged as a land surveyor and con- 
veyancer since early life. He has also a very extensive 
business as a probate attorney, and in the settlement of 
estates; and, as the only acting justice in the town, his 
services are frequently in demand in the adjudication of 
questions involving the public peace, as well as matters 
of private right. 

In April, i860, he was united in marriage with Mary 
C. Carter of Hampstead, who is still living. They have 

two children, Frank 
W., born January 19, 
1 861, and Ada Mary, 
October 2, 1864, the 
latter now being the 
wife of W. E. Ham- 
ilton of Haverhill, 
Mass. The son, Frank 
W. Greenougii, is now 
the active manager 
and a part owner of 
the homestead farm, 
which embraces about 
two hundred acres of 
land. From fifty to 
sixty tons of hay are 
annually produced, 
and four or five acres 
of field corn, and some two acres of corn for fodder. 
The leading industrj- is the production of milk for the 
Plaistow and Haverhill markets. About twenty-five head 
of cattle, mostly Holstein, are kept, and about the same 
number of swine, the latter being kept principally for 
the purpose of clearing up and improving wild land. 

Mr. Greenough is a Universalist in religious belief, 
and politically a Democrat, and has been prominent in 




Oilman GKEEXouciH. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 397 

the councils of his party in Rockingham county. 
Although residing in a town usually Republican, he has 
been its treasurer for sixteen consecutive years. He has 
also served as collector, selectman, and supervisor, and 
is now, and has been for nearly twelve years past, a 
member of the school-board. In 1894, he was the can- 
didate of his party for county treasurer, and although 
not elected, received a very flattering vote in his section 
of the county. 

He is a member of Atkinson Grange, No. 143, and 
has been lecturer and overseer of the same. He is also 
a member of West Rockingham Pomona Grange, and is 
now serving his tifth year as treasurer of that organiza- 
tion. 



CHARLES L. CLARK, 

Marlborough. 

Among the best-known and most actively interested 
Patrons of Husbandrv in the county of Cheshire, for 
several years past, has been Charles L. Clark of Marl- 
borough, who was born in that town, February 9, 1840, 
a son of Fuller and Adaline (Porter) Clark, his paternal 
grandfather being Thomas Clark of Troy, and his mater- 
nal grandfather, Asa Porter, a Revolutionary soldier. 
He attended the common schools of his native town, and 
the High school for some years, and was also for several 
terms under the instruction of Rev. Dr. S. H. McColles- 
ter at Valley Seminary, Westmoreland. 

When the war of the rebellion broke out, he was study- 
ing medicine under the instruction of Dr. Samuel A. 
Richardson. He promptly enlisted in what was the 
Second N. H. Volunteers, drilled three weeks, and was 
taken sick, so that he was unable to proceed with his 
company to Portsmouth, where the term of enlistment 



398 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

was changed to three years. Subsequently, he enlisted 
in the Sixth regiment, with which he served three years 
and ten months, coming home as first lieutenant com- 
manding Company B. During his service he partici- 
pated in twenty pitched battles, and many minor engage- 
ments. 

After his return from the war, Mr. Clark was for 
many years in mercantile life, but for seventeen years 
past has been engaged in agriculture, having purchased 
a farm on the borders of Stone pond in Marlborough, 




I- •^, i U i 






!HtP'"Tilir 



"LAKEsmE" — Residen'Ce of C. L. Clakk, Marlborough. 

upon which he has effected great improvements, erect- 
ing a fine new set of buildings, and working a wonderful 
transformation in the general appearance of the place. 
Market gardening and the dairy are the specialties at 
" Lakeside Farm," as Mr. Clark's place is designated, 
about a dozen choice cows being generally kept, and the 
butter sold to private customers. 

Mr. Clark has been twice married : first to Mary E., 
daughter of George V. R. and Nancy V. Farnum, by 
whom he had one daughter, Mary Edith ; second to 
Ellen L., daughter of John E. and Cleora Whitnev, by 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 399 

whom he had two children, Charles W., born December 
20, 1869, and Helena J., born June 5, 1877. The son, 
a worthy and prominent young man, wlio was married, 
and resided at home, was accidentally killed while blast- 
ing rocks, October 21, 1897 ; the terrible blow nearly 
prostrated his father, who has been in ill health tor 
some years through a severe injury which badly shat- 
tered his nervous system. 

Mr. Clark is a Republican in politics, but has never 
sought political ofHce. He is associated with the G. A. R., 
the Red Men, the American Mechanics, the Daughters 
of Liberty, Odd Fellows, and the Masonic fraternity, 
having taken both the Chapter and Commandery degrees 
in the latter. He has been a member of Marlborough 
Grange for ten years, serving two years as assistant 
steward, one year as overseer, three years as master, 
two years as master of Cheshire County Pomona Grange, 
and two years on the executive committee. He was also 
two years vice-president of the Cheshire County Grange 
Fair Association, and one year president. In religion 
Mr. Clark is a Baptist, and held the ofiice of deacon sev- 
eral years. 

Mr. Clark is a ready parliamentarian, and an easy 
speaker, and is at home either in the chair or on the 
floor in the numerous public gatherings in which he par- 
ticipates. 



HENRY NOYES, 
Hampstead, 

The Noyes family has long been among the most 
prominent and respected in southeastern New Hamp- 
shire, and the late Edward R. Noyes of Hampstead was 
one of the best-known and most substantial citizens and 
successful farmers of that town. His homestead was 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



401 



located about two miles from the centre villa<;e, on the 
east road, leading to Haverhill, Mass., via Westville, 
and the same distance from East Hampstead. Here he 
passed a well-spent life, honored the farmer's calling, 
and reared a family to habits of industry and thrift. 

Henry Noyes, son of Edward R. and Elvira P. Noyes, 
was born on the homestead, April 11, 1S54, and hei-e 
grew to manhood, receiving sucii education as the com- 
mon schools afforded. 
Early in life he en- 
tered the employ of his 
older brother, Leonard, 
who was located adja- 
cent to the homestead, 
and was extensivel}' 
engaged in business 
as a butcher, driving 
through his own and 
neighboring towns. 
Subsequently, upon his 
brother's death, he took 
the business himself, 
and materially increas- 
ed it, doing business 
in several New Hamp- 
shire towns, and in 

Haverhill, Mass., some six miles distant, his sales 
amounting to about $1,500 per month. 

April 27, 1879, ^^^ ^'^^ united in marriage with Ida A. 

Thomas of Atkinson, and located on the William C. 

Little tarm, which he had purchased, adjoining the 

homestead, the latter passing upon the father's death 

into the hands of a younger brother, Wallace. This 

was known as an excellent farm, and had been kept in a 

fine state of cultivation for the production of market 
26 




Henry Noyes. 



402 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

vegetables, but since passing into the hands of Mr. 
Noyes has been devoted mainly to stock feeding and 
milk production, the latter being sold of late to dealers 
for the Haverhill market. Extensive improvements have 
been made upon the farm, which includes about 300 acres 
of land. Rocks and old fences have been removed, 
the buildings modernized and fitted with all conven- 
iences, including running water ; and a general appear- 
ance of thrift and comfort pervades the premises. Mr. 
Noyes cuts from eighty to one hundred tons of hay, and 
raises about three hundred bushels of field corn annually. 
He keeps about thirty head of cattle and fourteen horses, 
a number of the latter being required in his extensive 
meat business. 

Mr. Noyes is a practical man, alwa3's works with a 
definite object in view, and seldom fails to accomplish 
his purpose. He ranks with the best farmers in his 
section, and his social and financial standing is of the 
highest. In religion he is a Universalist, and in politics 
a Democrat, but he has never been an aspirant for politi- 
cal honors. He is a member of Atkinson Grange, No. 
143, and has been treasurer of the same. 

Mr. and Mrs. Noyes have five children — Edward 
Moody, Forrest Henry, Lee Wallace, Olive M., and 
Florence P. 



CHARLES H. HAYES & SONS, 

Portsmouth. 

The most extensive breeders of Ayrshire cattle, and 
among the largest general farmers in New Hampshire, 
are Charles H. Hayes & Sons of Portsmouth. 

Mr. Hayes is a native of Cambridge, Mass., a son of 
Charles and Rebecca (Goodwin) Hayes, born Jan. 13, 
1835. In 1842 his father removed with his family to 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKJ<:TCHES. 4O3 

Portsmouth, buying and locating upon the well-known 
" Shaw farm," two miles out from the city proper, on 
the Greenland road, then owned by Capt. Andrew Hus- 
sey, which he carried on until his death in 1884, ^^'^^ son 
having been associated with him for many years previ- 
ous, in the proprietorship and management. The home 
farm contains about three hundred acres of excellent 
land, and about two hundred acres of outland have been 
added. 

While general farming has been pursued, stock-rais- 
ing and market gardening have been the leading fea- 
tures, and for more than a third of a century Ayrshire 
cattle have been at the front on the farm. In May, 
1873, the barns and entire stock were destroyed by fire, 
but energy and perseverance soon accomplished restora- 
tion, and the herd now embraces ninety-two head of cat- 
tle, most of which are registered animals. In addition 
to these, some eight or ten horses are also kept. These 
cattle have all been raised on the farm, and bred with 
great care. The reputation of the Hayes Ayrshires, 
indeed, extends over a large section of the country, and 
sales from the herd are frequently made to parties in the 
different New England and central, and even Southern 
and Western states. Exhibits Irom this stock have 
attracted marked attention, and won leading prizes at 
State and New England fairs for man}' years, fairly 
sweeping the board in their class at the last New Eng- 
land fair in Portland — the result of a fixed determina- 
tion to succeed, formed thirty-two years before, when a 
solitary third prize only was secured at the same fair in 
that city. The excellence of these Ayrshires as milk- 
producing animals is shown from the fact that the aver- 
age product per head, of the forty-five cows kept on the 
farm, has been something over six thousand pounds for 
the 3'ear. The milk is sold mainlv at wholesale in Ports- 



-^ 



{f ^^i': 



*% %._ 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 405 

mouth, though a retail milk route has been conducted 
for years. The surplus now goes to the Portsmouth 
creamery, recently established. The sales of cattle and 
milk from the farm, for 1891, amounted to $3,978, and the 
same for 1894 to $4,390, while the herd was kept good in 
numbers and qualit}' by the stock raised on the farm. 

About two hundred tons of hay are annually cut on the 
farm and one hundred and twenty-five tons of ensilage 
put in. For the year 1897 ^^^^ '^^J pi"odnct, including 
first and second crops, exceeded 250 tons. About tbrty 
acres of land are kept under the plow, the larger por- 
tion ot which is devoted to the production of vegetables 
for the Portsmouth market, of wiiich over twelve hun- 
dred bushels were stored at Thanksgiving time in 1897, 
after daily sales throughout the season. Aside from 
vegetables, from one to two acres of strawberries are 
also raised. The orcharding on the farm is also exten- 
sive, a thousand barrels of apples being secured in pro- 
lific years. About fifteen men are employed on the farm 
in summer and five or six in winter, the average annual 
cost of labor being over $2,000. 

Mr. Hayes was united in marriage Aug. 24, 1859, 
with Lucy M., daughter of Washington Sweetser of 
Portsmouth. They have four children, three sons and a 
daugiiter. Charles Sweetser, the eldest son, born July 
24, 1862, married Sarah Rebecca, a daughter of Henry 
Bean of Newington and lives at home. Florence Good- 
win, the daughter, born July 30, 1867, married Irving O. 
Cummings, M. D., son of Dr. E. G. Cummings of Con- 
cord. They reside at Brewster, Mass. Philip Adrian, 
the youngest son, born Oct. 14, 1870, also resides at 
home, and with his father and elder brother, is actively 
engaged in the fiirm work. H. Percy, the second son, 
born Sept. 8, 1869, is now managing the Portsmouth 
creamery, recently established. 



406 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 

Mr. Hayes is a Congregationalist and a Republican, 
and has served in both branches of the Portsmouth city 
government. 



CHARLES E. SMITH, 

Newfields. 

If the traveler who was wont to stop at the Kimball 
House in Dover back in the " seventies" (and most dis- 
criminating travelers who visited that city in those days 
did so), were to leave the Concord & Portsmouth train at 
Littlefield's crossing, some day, and follow the highway 
a quarter of a mile to the north, he would come to a 
modest set of buildings on a two-hundred acre farm, 
and, seeking out the master of the premises, might be 
surprised to find in his person the same bluff, stalwart, 
genial and jovial Charles E. Smith, whose hearty greet- 
ing as landlord of the Kimball House is still remembered 
with pleasure by all who called it forth, and he would be 
welcomed as cordially as in those other days. 

Mr. Smith is now on his " native heath," his farm 
being a part of the old homestead on which he was born, 
as well as his father and grandfather before him, the place 
having been owned in the family for several generations. 
He is a son of the late Daniel R. and Deborah B. (Wig- 
gin) Smith, born January 5, 1831. He was reared on the 
farm and devoted his early life to farm labor, aiding in 
clearing up many of the acres which he now occupies. 
In the fall of 1862, however, he abandoned agriculture, 
and went into business in a grocery store at the village 
of South Newmarket, now Newfields, where he con- 
tinued two years and then went into a hotel in the same 
place, which he managed five years, going thence to tiie 
Kimball House, before mentioned, in Dover, which he 
conducted most successfully for more than ten years. 



PERSONAL AND FARM SKETCHES. 



407 



While in Dover, Mr. Smith, who has always been a 
zealous Republican, devoted considerable attention to 
politics, in which he had already taken more or less 
interest. He served for some time as chief engineer of 
the fire department, and was elected to the state senate 

from the Dover district 
at the first biennial 
election, in November, 
1878. Returning to 
South Newmarket in 
1881, he has since giv- 
en his attention to agri- 
culture, though resid- 
ing for some years at 
the village, adjacent to 
which he has a large 
tract of land, which he 
cultivates, as well as 
the farm upon which 
he has made his home 
for two or three years 
past. He pursues mix- 
ed farming, with no 
particular specialty, and takes solid comfort in the hon- 
est toil incident to the farmer's vocation. 

Mr. Smith has been for several years a member of 
South Newmarket Grange, and master of the same the 
past year. He is also a member and past chancellor of 
Pioneer Lodge No. i, K. of P., at Newmarket. He is 
the present moderator of the town of Newfields, and has 
held most of the offices in the gift of his townsmen, 
including that of representative as far back as 1868, 
before his removal to Dover. 

December 7, 1865, he was united in marriage with 
A. Augusta Burley, a sister of Harrison G. Burley of New- 
market, whose cheerful companionship he still enjoys. 




Charles E. Smith. 



PUBLISHER'S NOTE. 



The printing of this volume was commenced in the summer of 1S96, beginning with 
the main body of the work — the " Personal and Farm Sketches " — opening at page 
49, and has continued to December, 1S97, such progress being made as tire preparation 
of sketches and the securing of pictures for illustration has permitted, no little delay 
having been occasioned many times by difificulty and disappointment in the latter 
direction. The work being in press for so long a time, it happens that the situation is 
now different with reference to some subjects from what was the case at the time the 
matter referring thereto was printed. For instance, Mr. John C. Morrison of Bosca- 
wen, one of the first subjects, is now deceased, having passed away some time after 
that portion of the book in which his sketch appears, was sent to press. In two or 
three other instances members of the families of other subjects, who have been 
referred to as living, have since died ; while in other cases, men spoken of as holding 
certain ' positions at time of writing have subsequently retired therefrom, and some 
now hold positions which they did not occupy when written of and the matter was 
sent to press. This explanation is made to remove what might otherwise be a well 
founded suspicion of carelessness in the preparation of the work. 



C 74 










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